


She Knew

by zuxxa



Series: Reborn [2]
Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV), The Vampire Diaries - L. J. Smith
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Demisexuality, Dimension Travel, Except for Julian FUCK JULIAN, F/F, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Foreknowledge, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I hope that comes across well, I literally cannot make a single one of my female OCs straight please send help, Includes some book elements, M/M, Multi, No character bashing because we ain't about that life, Not just romantically, People make mistakes irl and so does my OC, Pretty wildly AU, Psychological Trauma, Realizing my love for every single character, Reincarnation, Self-Indulgent, Self-Insert, Smut, Thanks to research for this fic, The Scooby Gang knows about vampires, They're actually somewhat prepared, Transported to TVD, Trying to be as realistic as possible
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:22:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 116,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24368791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zuxxa/pseuds/zuxxa
Summary: Elena and Angela Gilbert were born on June 22nd, 1992 in Mystic Falls, Virginia. But Angela knew. And because she knew, it was easy for her to carve out a purpose for herself in this new life: protect her family (blood-related or otherwise) and prevent as many pointless deaths as possible. One thing she didn't know, however, was just how difficult that would prove to be.[SI-OC]
Relationships: Rebekah Mikaelson/Original Female Character(s), Rebekah Mikaelson/Stefan Salvatore, Stefan Salvatore/Original Female Character(s), Stefan Salvatore/Original Female Character(s)/Rebekah Mikaelson, That's not a tag and it makes me sad, stefan/oc/rebekah endgame
Series: Reborn [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1757452
Comments: 74
Kudos: 232





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This fic deals with things that might be triggering to some people (graphic depiction of corpses, mental and psychological issues, general gore) so if you're one of those people, please be careful in choosing whether or not to read this. I personally don’t think it’s anything too horrible, and it's not all the time, but I’m not willing to take that chance.
> 
> As always, this is also up on FF.net if it's more convenient for you to read it there! I hope you enjoy the story :)

**PROLOGUE**

Her mother was beautiful. Her beautiful mother with her long, brown hair and her kind, green eyes. She always liked to sing her lullabies, even though her voice wasn’t the prettiest in the world. It was alright, though. The rocking of her crib helped lull her to sleep when her mother’s voice failed. It was her eyes she got.

Her father was quite handsome as well, but not nearly as stunning as her green-eyed mother. She didn’t get much from him. Sure, their noses could be considered similar and they were the same ethnicity, but there wasn’t much else to prove at face value that they were father and daughter.

It was that realization that caused all her other memories to begin sliding into place. Of course she didn’t look like him. He wasn’t her father. Her green eyes weren’t her mother’s. She wasn’t her mother. Her sister… Well, her sister was still her sister.

Elena and Angela Gilbert were born on June 22nd, 1992 in Mystic Falls, Virginia.

She knew that before, in her memories, she used to be quite a miserable person. Miserable but strong. Miserable but smart. Miserable and alone. Now, she supposed, at least she couldn’t be alone anymore. Not when she had Elena to look after.

Her sister was always a happy girl. Every boy that didn’t fear her deathly cooties had a crush on her, she knew. She supposed she couldn’t blame them. If they weren’t related and she actually was the age she looked she might have had a crush on her, too. Elena was blessed at birth with the gift of charisma and used it unwittingly. Old ladies cooed endlessly when she was around and she made friends everywhere she went. Angela made friends too, but only to see if they could be trusted near Elena. Were they actually friends, then? It didn’t really matter, she supposed. Friendships always complicated things.

She couldn’t remember much of her life before. She supposed that didn’t really matter either. All the useful memories were still with her. Remembering her real parents would have likely only served to drive her mad.

She and Elena met Bonnie when they were a year old. Abigail Bennett was their mother’s best friend and she gave birth seven months after they were born. It was Bonnie’s second birthday, however, that she actually remembered. Wearing a forest green dress and golden circlet, Bonnie looked like a young forest fae. Angela brought this up to her and that sparked the three of them playing a game of trolls and fairies; their own variation of cops and robbers. Elena and Bonnie became fast friends after that. She supposed she was Bonnie’s friend too, as well as a grown adult could be friends with a toddler.

She was called a genius when she mastered the alphabet at the age of three. She made a mental note to stop letting things like that slip. The pages she’d detailed future events on were in an empty bottle buried in the backyard. She had to wait until after midnight to bury it. Digging was tedious with hands as tiny as hers, and worrisome if any adults were awake to see her.

Abigail Bennett left Bonnie and her husband that year, which meant that Mikael had come and gone. The fact that Angela didn’t even notice gave her nightmares for a month.

Jeremy was born when they were four. It seemed that their parents had had their hands full with the twins and decided to wait two more years than they would have before trying for a biological child. She adored her baby brother but, bless his soul, he was the ugliest baby she’d ever laid her eyes on. Red and bald and screaming, he was something out of a horrible fever dream. How could she resist those round blue eyes, however, that were half the size of his head and looked at her so sweetly?

With age five came kindergarten. With kindergarten came Caroline Forbes, the girl that would single-handedly change her outlook on life.

Unlike her sister, she was quite indifferent to the idea of starting school, though that might have just been because she’d gone through the whole ordeal once already. Elena had been all abuzz the night before. She was fluttering around their room, making sure her owl-shaped rolling bag was ready, her outfit perfect, her butterfly clips all laid out and ready to be used in the morning.

“It’s not a big deal, Lena.”

Her sister turned to pout at her. “It _is_ a big deal! You’re the one who’s not taking it seriously,” she stomped her tiny little leg and went back to brushing her hair. She’d heard somewhere that giving it a hundred strokes every night made it silkier and followed the advice religiously. No wonder she would always look perfect when she was older, she thought, when even at age five she took good care of herself.

Angela closed her eyes with an amused smile and settled further into her bed. “Goodnight, Elena.”

“Goodnight, Angie.” _Brush. Brush. Brush._

The following morning consisted of Elena excitedly dragging her out of bed, raving all the while about making new friends and how they’re finally becoming grown-ups, and though she was still tired she couldn’t help but find her yammering adorable.

The teacher seemed trustworthy. She was a kind-looking older woman with noticeable streaks of grey in her hair. Angela felt confident enough in her firm but sweet approach that she allowed herself to relax.

And that was when she struck.

“Hi! I’m Caroline. Wanna play house?”

It was impossible to be anything but happy when Caroline was around. She was upbeat, optimistic, and gave her compliments freely. She was the first person that made her act just a bit more like the age she seemed to be. The first person that got her to let go and happily play house, of all things. Knowing all that she knew, Angela came to the conclusion that she wanted to be friends with the precious little girl that would one day, with her help, become a confident and brilliant woman.

She decided to visit Sheila Bennett at age seven. Enough was enough, she thought, and she had to know.

“What am I?”

Sheila’s gaze shifted from that of a woman regarding a child to that of a woman regarding a woman. She smirked at her knowingly. “You’re human.”

Angela opened her mouth to protest, but Sheila raised a hand to stop her.

“The question you actually want the answer to is _how did I get here?_ ”

She swallowed. “How did I get here?”

Sheila sighed through her nose. “You died.”

The revelation hit her like a freight-train, but Sheila kept talking.

“Normally, when a human dies they either find peace or get dragged down to oblivion. Heaven and hell, as you likely know them better. Unfortunately… sometimes there’s a, ah, error in the system.”

An error? That’s what she was? An error? Sheila set down the coffee cup that smelled suspiciously like whiskey.

“Instead of passing on, your spirit decided to stay. I don’t know why, honestly it’s not something that happens very often.”

She caught on to what she was saying. “But this isn’t even my world. Why would I reincarnate here?”

Sheila made a noise of disagreement. “Your world, my world… What does it matter when you’re a spirit? There was just as much a chance of you ending up on Mars, millennia from now.”

“Are there others like me?”

She nodded her head to the side. “There have been.” Her lips briefly twitched into a smirk. “Obviously. But you could very well be the only one alive right now.”

They spent some time in silence, Angela contemplating her entire existence and Sheila sipping the suspicious liquid.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Sheila finally said, “how do you know this isn’t your world? Are you from a different time period? Did humans not exist where you were from?”

She let out a small laugh. “That would be interesting, wouldn’t it? No, none of that.” Her smile died. “The events of Mystic Falls were a TV show where I come from… _came_ from. My sister was the protagonist, for reasons I’m sure you can imagine.”

Sheila’s eyes were narrowed in thought. “You know about her, then?”

“Yes. I know what happened in the past. I know what would happen in a future wherein I never existed.” She scoffed. “I haven’t even tried to change anything major yet, and Jeremy is already completely different. He would’ve been born two years after Elena, not four. He’ll likely grow up to be a completely different person.”

She nodded. “The future is hardly set in stone. Every witch knows that.”

Angela cleared her throat. “Speaking of… I think you should start teaching Bonnie magic as soon as you think reasonable. From what I know, her powers won’t start awakening until she’s seventeen, but she can still start learning.”

Sheila’s eyes narrowed further, and Angela couldn’t tell if she was warning her to back off or only thinking harder.

“And what makes you say that?”

“She wasn’t strong enough last time, in the beginning. She was vulnerable because she didn’t have enough knowledge about the supernatural. She almost died. You… you died before she could learn from you. It’s your call of course, but… all I want is to keep her and the rest of the kids safe.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

The very next day Bonnie told her, Elena, and Caroline that she was a witch.

She found Grayson’s notebook at the age of ten. Not by accident, mind you, she had to pick the lock to his desk drawer, but it seemed the easiest way to get him to tell her the truth. She tried preparing herself for its contents, but she clearly underestimated what he was capable of doing.

_8.3.2002_

_A.S: Vervain in blood beginning to show less severe reactions. Up the dosage._

_P.F: Flesh of up to 1in. diameter regenerates when removed. Increase depth of incision by ½ in._

_C.A: Severed hand doesn’t regenerate. Reattach and see if regeneration process occurs._

“What are you doing?”

She slammed the notebook shut before she could think better of it. _He’s going to kill me._ Her eyes fluttered closed to fight the bile rising in her throat. _No, he’s not. You’re ten years old and his daughter. The worst he’ll do is ground you._ She slowly turned around.

Grayson’s blue eyes flicked towards the book in her hands and his face twitched in a way that frightened her.

“D-daddy?” She didn’t need to fake the fear in her voice. “What is this?”

He didn’t look like her father at that moment. He crouched down in front of her, a lion waiting to strike. His voice was too even and his eyes were too cold. “Where did you find that, sweetheart?”

She swallowed. “In your desk.”

His jaw ticked. He smiled in what she assumed was meant to be a disarming manner, but his eyes were still too hard. “Didn’t I tell you girls to never go through my desk? Hm?” His hand lurched towards her face and she flinched. His fingers stopped a few inches away from her and she dared to look back up at him. He looked an odd mixture of angry and hurt. His index finger reached out again and simply touched the tip of her nose.

“I’m sorry.” Her words came out a whisper.

His eyes shut and when they opened he was her father again. “Did you read anything? I won’t punish you if you did.”

“You wrote about cutting people’s flesh off.”

Some time passed in silence before he gently nudged her chin. “Hey. Look at me.”

He had a tortured look on his face. “I wasn’t planning on telling you this until you turned eighteen, but…” he laughed mirthlessly, “well, that’s out of the picture now, isn’t it?”

He sighed and stood, striding over to his desk chair and sitting down. He rubbed his forehead and stared at her. “What do you know about vampires?”

 _He’s actually going to tell me._ “They’re immortal and drink blood to survive?”

“They’re evil. They drink innocent people’s blood. Not just to survive, but because they like it. They like to hurt people. They like to _kill_ people. People like you and me. They’re… they’re problems. And how do you solve a problem, Angie?”

She tilted her head and thought for a moment. “By learning more about it?”

He smiled, pleasantly surprised. “Yes! You brilliant girl, by learning more about it. That way you can figure out what needs to be done to solve it.” He gestured to the notebook, still in her hands. “That’s what you read. I learn more about vampires. That way I can stop them before they hurt innocent people.”

 _Hypocrite._ “Only the bad vampires, though, right?”

He looked confused. “All vampires are bad vampires, honey.”

She shook her head. “That’s stupid. No race or species is all bad or all good. How could you even measure that?”

His eyes hardened. “Don’t call me stupid, Angela. I’m still your dad.”

Anger was beginning to bubble inside of her like water in a pot. _The hell you are._

“I didn’t call you stupid. I called your line of thinking stupid.”

He stood suddenly and she flinched once more. “It’s in their _nature_ to kill people!” His voice was desperate. “Of course they’re all bad! I know more than you about this, listen to me for once!”

The door swung open, and there stood her mother hand-in-hand with a six-year-old Jeremy.

“Hey,” her eyebrows were furrowed in concern, “what’s going on here?”

“Dad’s telling me-“

“Hey!” Grayson cut her off, eyes murderous. “Stop talking.”

The water overflowed. _You don’t get to tell me what to do._ “-about vampires.”

Her mother’s eyes widened in surprise. “What?”

“I thought I told you to stop talking!”

“I thought you were telling me about vampires.”

His nostrils flared and with a sharp sigh he looked at Miranda, face turning weary. “What do we do now?”

She stayed in stunned silence for a moment before looking down at Jeremy with a strained smile. “Hey, sweetie, why don’t you go see what your sister’s doing for a bit, hmm?”

His big round eyes were shifting between the three of them nervously, but he nodded obediently and walked towards the twins’ room. Miranda closed the door.

“What did Daddy tell you, angel?”

She crossed her arms. All her fear was gone, and in its place was only righteous anger. “Well, _after_ I read his notes that detailed torturing people-” Grayson let out a grunt of displeasure “-he told me that all vampires were evil and it’s in their nature to kill humans, so it’s okay to torture them.”

The door opened again and Elena stepped through, looking thoroughly befuddled. “Hey, um, Jeremy just told me you were talking about vampires?”

Angela felt a surge of joy go through her and made a mental note to hug her brother as soon as the conversation was over. _This is perfect._

“No, we weren’t, Elena, go back to your room,” Grayson rubbed his temples.

“Elena deserves to know, too.” She tried her best to keep the glee out of her voice.

He shot her a glare much weaker than the ones before. His resolve seemed to be crumbling.

“I think Angela’s right, darling,” her mother spoke up with a shaky smile. “She would be safer if she knew and the cat’s already out of the bag.”

Grayson threw his head back and let out a long groan. “Close the door, Elena. We have a lot to talk about.”

They met Tyler Lockwood and the Donovan siblings in middle school. Matt was immediately smitten by her sweet sister, and it was obvious to everybody in the world except for her. Tyler was far from kind and selfless, but he wasn’t anywhere near the bully he was from when she remembered him. It was… _odd_ to see him behaving like a normal kid. It was odd to see all of them behaving like normal kids.

Well… almost normal.

When Grayson and Miranda told her and Elena about vampires, it had the unforeseen – to her parents – repercussion of them insisting that Jeremy, Caroline, and Bonnie know as well. Bonnie handled it miles better than Caroline due to her already knowing about witches, but Caroline refused to talk to her parents for an entire week. She saw it as a betrayal that they could keep such a huge secret from her, even though Angela tried her hardest to get her to see their point of view. Jeremy handled it perfectly well because he was a six-year-old and six-year-olds have no real preconceived notions of the world.

She decided that Tyler deserved to know, as well. She couldn’t possibly tell him about werewolves yet, but telling him about vampires would more than likely make him being a werewolf easier to accept.

But first, she needed to befriend him.

The opportunity presented itself during the annual Founder’s Party. Half the attendees were trusted and valuable members of the community and the other half were children trying desperately to have fun. She and Elena had picked out matching dresses in red and blue shades respectively and were talking to Bonnie and Caroline.

Well, Elena was talking to them. Angela was trying to think of a way to grab the moonstone and Emily’s necklace both.

“Um, hellooo?” A pale hand waved in front of her eyes. It pulled back to reveal Caroline’s pouting face. “Were you even listening to what I said?”

She smiled awkwardly. “Ahhhh, no?”

Bonnie and Elena shared a look as Caroline crossed her arms in a gesture that seemed far too adult for her twelve-year-old body. “Okay, what is going on with you? Ever since we all got here you’ve been spacing out.”

She sighed. “I’ve just been thinking…”

The girls waited for her to finish, but when she didn’t Caroline leaned her head towards her impatiently. “Yes?”

She shook her head with a forced smile. “Nothing important, don’t worry about it. Just thinking about that… math quiz.”

“Uh huh, sure,” Bonnie piped up with narrowed eyes that immediately reminded her of Sheila.

“Keep your secrets,” her sister finished jokingly.

Caroline sighed in annoyance. “You’re telling me later.” She looked at her pointedly. “No. More. Secrets.”

 _Would it really be that bad if I told them about me?_ She decided to put that thought off for later.

“I’m gonna go explore the mansion. I’d like some time alone, if that’s alright.”

The girls stared at her, concerned.

“Hey,” Elena spoke up and gently grabbed her hand. “You can tell us anything. You know that, right?”

She smiled, genuinely this time. “I know. And I will. But not now, okay?”

The three of them glanced at one another before nodding their assent. _Like the three heads of Cerberus,_ she thought and couldn’t help but smile in amusement.

The mansion was opulent. The outside didn’t offer much to marvel at, with it essentially being a large brick box, but the inside was furnished beautifully, with spotless wooden floors and chandeliers that seemed to grow from the ceiling like flowers. She climbed the wide staircase, her hands grazing the engraved pattern on the railing as Saint-Saëns’ _The_ _Swan_ slowly morphed into Debussy’s _Arabesque No. 1_.

There was significantly less hustle and bustle on the second floor, and as she made her way through the wide hallways it became quieter and quieter.

Until she heard the sound of glass breaking.

She turned towards the wooden double doors in time to hear a man’s muffled shouting.

_“Did I say you could go!? Sit your ass back down!”_

She heard what sounded like a thud and felt her pulse begin to quicken. _What’s going on?_

_“You’re a Lockwood! You’re not a servant! You don’t act like that in front of everybody! You don’t act like a pussy!”_

A higher-pitched voice mumbled something and Angela started putting the pieces together.

_“You’re only sorry because you’re being yelled at, you little shithead!”_

She heard another thud. _He’s not hitting him, is he?_ She felt like she should interfere but had no idea how.

_“Now go back to the party. Make sure you’re presentable. Do something like that again and I swear to God…”_

She heard footsteps rapidly approaching the door and hid behind an archway. Mayor Richard Lockwood exited the room, looking slightly more disheveled and angry than usual. After a moment of him adjusting his suit he made for the stairs. She came out of hiding and walked towards the room, heart heavy in her chest. _That poor kid._

She knocked gently and opened one of the doors before Tyler could say anything. He jumped up from his spot on the leather loveseat when he saw her, eyes wide and red.

“Hey! I didn’t say you could come in!”

“Your dad’s a jerk.”

Tyler’s shoulders slumped and he turned his head away. When he spoke his tone was quiet and ashamed. “You heard that?”

She bit her lip and closed the door. “Yeah. I didn’t mean to, but I was walking around the house and thought someone might be in trouble, so I stayed…”

He chuckled dryly; a thoroughly depressing sound to come out of somebody so young. He sat back down. “Yeah, well…”

She swallowed back the lump in her throat. “May I sit down?”

He looked at her with a sad smirk. “Now you wait for permission?” When she smiled back he nodded, expression solemn. “Yeah. Sure. I guess.”

She walked towards the loveseat and gently sat down. “Do you… What happened?”

He sighed through his nose and ran a hand through his black hair that was earlier styled to perfection but now looked shaggy and unkempt. He simply looked down at the floor for a while, not saying anything.

“Y-you don’t have to tell-”

“I picked a lady’s purse up off the ground.”

Her words died in her throat and she blinked in surprise. “What?”

He turned his head to look at her blankly. “I picked a lady’s purse up off the ground.”

She felt her eyebrows furrow in confusion. “And that’s bad… why, exactly?”

He scoffed. “It made me look like a pussy apparently.” His eyes widened. “Uhh, that means… it made me look weak.”

She smiled gently. “I know what it means.”

His face turned curious. “Really? Goody-two-shoes Gilbert knows what ‘pussy’ means?”

Her mouth dropped open in indignation. _Kid, I know how to say pussy in French._ He was looking at her with a gleam of amusement in his eyes, and it made her heart feel just a bit lighter.

She adopted a haughty look. “I know what ‘fuck’ means, too.”

His eyebrows rose in surprise and his mouth morphed into a toothy grin. He laughed breathlessly. “Damn, and here I thought you were a nerd. You always get straight A’s.”

She shrugged. “Honestly? I don’t really study all that much. I guess I’m just kinda smart.” _Or have an incredibly unfair advantage._

He shook his head in disbelief and whistled. “Lucky…”

“Hey, everyone has their strengths. You’re _incredible_ in P.E.” She laughed. “And I literally tripped over my own feet the other day.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I guess… Only because my dad pushes me so much.”

She tilted her head. “Well, if he _didn’t_ push you, what do you think you’d wanna do?”

He thought for a while, simply staring through her. “I think… I’d like to draw comic books.”

“Comic books, huh? Do you have any drawings I can look at?”

His eyes widened. “Oh, nu-uh, no. No way, I’m super bad.”

She smiled and nudged his shoulder. “Oh, come on. Even the best of the best were horrible when they were our age. Besides,” she snorted, “anything you draw can’t be any worse than the garbage _I’d_ put on paper.”

He pursed his lips to the side and regarded her thoughtfully. “…Okay.” He got up and walked towards a door. “Just let me _make sure I’m presentable._ ”

Tyler handled the news about as well as Caroline. He couldn’t exactly stop talking to his parents for a week because he’d be punished, but he was noticeably freaked out for a month or so.

Angela encouraged him to keep drawing and when his temper began to rear its ugly head she helped him diffuse it and express it later, in healthy ways. There were still times where it got the best of him, but those were thankfully few and far between. He became an official member of the gang (which they had lovingly dubbed the _Mystic Falls Maniacs_ ) and one of her closest friends.

At age fourteen she had gathered them all in Sheila Bennett’s house and told them the truth about herself.

Elena and Jeremy were slightly hurt that she kept something like that from them, but seemed to accept her explanation that she didn’t want them to look at her any different. Bonnie was totally accepting, saying that she always knew there was something alien about her but couldn’t quite tell what it was. Tyler was having a bit of a meltdown.

“W-wait, so my life is a TV show?” His eyes were frantic. “So is-is there like a-a writer controlling my life or something? Do I have free will? Shit! Angie! You’re a demigod! Oh my God. Oh my God…”

There was a pregnant pause before Caroline gasped in realization. “No wonder you’ve never had a crush on anyone! We’re little kids to you!”

Tyler looked at her, bewildered. “Our best friend just told us she’s an adult from an alternate universe and _that’s_ the first thing you think of?”

Caroline rolled her eyes with a shrug. “What? It doesn’t really change anything. She’s still Angie. We just know a bit more about her now.”

“Umm,” Bonnie shyly started, “Since we’re all opening up… I think I need to tell the boys something.”

The girls shared a significant look and Angela put her hand on Bonnie’s shoulder.

“We’re here for you, Bon-Bon.”

“That’s right,” Caroline nodded.

“We can call your grams in, too, if they need proof,” Elena said reassuringly.

“Proof about what?” Tyler asked.

“Yeah,” Jeremy’s eyebrows were furrowed in confusion. “Proof about what?”

Bonnie took a deep breath and spoke. “I’m a witch.”

They blinked.

“WHAT!?”

Caroline and Tyler started dating at the age of fifteen. It wasn’t much of a shock to the people around her, but Angela didn’t see it coming at all. It made sense though, seeing as they got to know each other much earlier and Tyler wasn’t the douchebag he would have been if Angela didn’t exist. His father had still drilled a few alpha male tendencies into his head that would pop up now and then, but being best friends with four girls helped him accept that he didn’t have to be a tough guy all the time.

Their relationship also helped Caroline reach a new peak in her confidence. Angela had been building her up over the years, always being there for her and ensuring that she never felt inferior to Elena, but being with Tyler made her absolutely glow. She was old enough that Angela could clearly see how she might be as a young woman, and she was more than pleased with the work she’d done.

Her father leaving her, however, undid a lot of it.

She called her on the morning of February 3rd 2008, sobbing and speaking incoherently. Once Angela helped her calm down enough to tell her what happened, Caroline said that her dad came out as gay and was having an affair with a man named Steven.

_“He’s leaving us! He’s just leaving us! After all these years! Why did he have to lie to us? Why does everyone in my life have to have these huge secrets!?”_

_Stab me in the heart, why don’t you?_ “I can’t even begin to imagine how you must feel, Care-bear, but you’re not being completely fair to him. Th-”

_“How can you say that!? He wasn’t being fair by fooling us into thinking he cared!”_

She briefly closed her eyes in both heartache and irritation. “There’s a good chance he didn’t realize he was gay before you were born, Caroline. There’s no doubt in my mind that he adores you, which is why I think he stayed with you all these years. And because he suppressed his sexuality for your sake he ended up cheating on your mom.”

Caroline’s voice was quieter. _“That still doesn’t make it right…”_

“No, that still doesn’t make it right. But it’s important to see his point of view. I don’t want you to have to hate your own dad.”

There was a sigh. _“Thanks, I guess.”_

She bit her lip. “Hey. I have an idea. Why don’t you come over tonight and you, me, Lena, and Bonnie can have a slumber party? You shouldn’t be alone at a time like this.”

_“…Okay.”_

“I need to get into your dad’s safe.”

Tyler raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Uhhhh, why?”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s a future thing.”

Tyler snorted and sat down on one of the picnic tables in front of the crowded high school. It was mid-October, and the leaves were turning a beautiful shade of marigold. “I’m gonna need you to do a little bit more explaining there, A-game.”

She sighed and sat down across from him. “There’s this… _moonstone_ in there. It’s magic and super duper important. Reeaally bad news if it gets into the wrong hands.”

He grinned. “And how do I know your hands are right?”

She tried to glare at him but her smile betrayed her mirth. “You’re an asshole.”

He laughed and tossed his football from one hand to the other. “Alright, alright. I’ll get it to you.”

She immediately perked up. “Really? Thank you! Oh, um, give it to me in private. I don’t know who might be watching.”

He looked at her curiously. “Is it really that big a deal?”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, trust me. You have _no_ idea.”

“What do you know about Emily Bennett?”

Sheila raised her eyebrows in surprise. “She was powerful. Lived here in the 1800s. Why do you ask?”

Angela let herself through the door and sat down on the couch. “She had this necklace. Well, I suppose _talisman_ would be the proper term for it.”

Sheila nodded and sat down across from her. “I know it. A large amber crystal. Again, why do you ask?”

Angela took a deep breath. “Do you by chance remember Stefan Salvatore? He listened to one of your anti-war sit-ins when you were young.”

Her eyes narrowed in thought. “I… Yes, actually. Yes, I do. He was Italian-looking.” She smirked. “Gorgeous, too; dark brown hair, stunning green eyes. Mmm,” she chuckled, “I could’ve just eaten him up.”

She laughed loudly. “Funny you should say that, because there was a much larger chance of him eating _you_.”

Sheila lifted her head in surprise, her smirk widening. “I don’t think that’s very appropriate, young lady.”

Angela waved a hand and giggled. “No, no, not like that. He was a vampire.”

Sheila’s smirk dropped. “Really now?”

She nodded. “Still is, actually. One of the main characters in the TV show. And, um, a really good person, believe it or not.” _When he’s not binging on human blood._

“Huh.” Sheila shook her head. “Never would’ve guessed.”

“Yeah, well, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. He and his brother, Damon, were born here in the 1800s. To make a _ridiculously_ long story short, they knew Emily and in exchange for her protecting the woman Damon loved, he swore to protect her lineage since he and Stefan had been turned into vampires and would be able to watch over her descendants.”

Sheila opened her mouth to say something, but Angela raised her hand.

“Please, let me get this out there. There’s a lot and I wanna make sure I don’t miss anything important. You can ask anything you want when I’m done.”

Sheila closed her mouth sharply and pursed her lips in playful irritation.

“Anyway, in order to protect the woman he loved, Emily used her talisman for the spell. If everything goes the way I think it will, next year the Salvatore brothers will come back to Mystic Falls and Damon will want the talisman in order to get the woman he loves back. Oh, yeah, she’s also my sister’s doppelgänger and a vampire. Did I forget to mention that?”

“Now hold on, child,” Sheila sounded exasperated and confused. “I know you said to wait, but what do you mean she’s your sister’s doppelgänger?”

“Well, assuming you know about Elena and all, I think it’s actually quite self-explanatory.”

Sheila rubbed her forehead and sighed. “Go on.”

“Right! So, in order to protect her, Emily had to lock her up somewhere and in order to unlock that somewhere, her talisman needs to be used. Now… Damon has become a bit… um… _volatile_ over the years. But! I think a good way to keep him from killing me and everyone I’ve ever looked at is to get that talisman before he does and exchange it for our safety. Thoughts?”

Sheila stared at her blankly. “Let me get this straight… You want Emily’s talisman so you can exchange it for protection because two centuries ago she used it to lock Damon Salvatore’s vampire doppelgänger lover away to safety and he wants it back so he can unlock the place where she’s being kept?”

She placed her hand on her chin and thought for a moment. “Yes. Yes, that’s exactly what I want.”

Sheila sighed. “You’re going to get yourself killed one day.”

Angela shrugged with a smile. “I’m already dead, aren’t I?”

She looked at her wearily. “How can I help?”

“Will it hurt?” Jeremy was looking at the tattoo gun anxiously.

“Only a bit,” the artist said. Her name was Irene and she would surely be enjoying the large amount of money Mayor Lockwood had given her to tattoo six underage children. “You’ll barely feel anything, I promise. It’s just a dot.”

“It’s a _mole,_ ” Grayson Gilbert said warningly, “and if anybody comes asking it was already there.”

Irene nodded with an affirmative hum and smiled. “Come on, kid. You first. The sooner you get it over with the sooner you’ll be able to relax.”

Jeremy looked at his sisters with wide, panic-stricken eyes.

“You’ll be fine, Jer,” Elena said with a barely-contained smirk. “I promise.”

“Yup,” Angela confirmed with a wide, amused grin. “We believe in you, Jerm.”

He sighed shakily, defeated, and dragged his feet over to the chair.

Tyler leaned over to whisper in Angela’s ear. “Bet you five bucks he’ll squeal like a little girl.”

She snickered. “Deal.”

As it turns out, Jeremy didn’t squeal after all. He just breathed through it like a woman going into labor, which for some reason was way funnier. Faintly, Angela felt a bit guilty at making fun of a twelve-year-old for being scared of getting a tattoo – even if that tattoo was the size of a small mole – but the fact that he was her brother seemed to override that.

Approximately a split second after Irene told him he was all done, he tore ass out of the chair and went to stand behind their mom, causing the rest of the _MFMs_ to desperately try and suppress their laughter.

“Alright!” Irene exclaimed with a bright smile. “Who’s next?”

It was Angela’s brilliant idea for them to all get tattoos of a mole done with brown ink mixed with powdered vervain. That way they could never be compelled, and by getting them done on or below their left hand they could also use it as a weapon. The thought of what might happen if any of them became vampires did cross her mind, but she figured they could simply cut that piece of skin off, as horrible and brutal as that sounded.

“Yeah,” Bonnie said while smirking, “who’s next?”

Caroline rolled her eyes playfully. “Oh shut up, witch bitch,” she huffed. “I’ll go next.”

“Go get ‘em, tiger!” Angela squeezed her shoulder and Caroline flashed her a bright smile before facing Tyler with a flick of her eyebrow.

“Do I get a good luck kiss?”

He looked taken aback and opened his mouth wordlessly. “Oh, uh, yeah. Sure.”

Caroline kissed him hard before pulling back with a satisfied smile and sitting down in the chair.

Angela tilted her head in confusion. _Those two are usually pretty lovey-dovey._ _What’s up with Tyler?_

She turned her head towards him and spoke lowly. “Hey, you okay?”

He blinked and licked his lips in surprise before flashing her an extremely unconvincing smile. “Y-yeah. Everything’s cool.”

She felt her eyebrows furrow in concern but didn’t push the subject.

Elena and Matt went on their first date later that week.

“What’s going on with you and Caroline?”

She’d gone over to the Lockwood mansion to hang out with Tyler, but ever since the day at the tattoo parlor he’d been acting odd around her and it was starting to get on her nerves.

He swallowed nervously. “Seriously, I don’t understand what you keep talking about. Nothing’s going on.”

She paused the game and set her controller down.

“Hey! I was winning!”

She turned to face him. “Tyler, I know you’re lying to me.”

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Angie, nothing’s going on. Everything’s fine. Honestly.”

She bit her lip, not missing the way his eyes followed the action and immediately looked away from her, but dismissed it as normal. It wasn’t the first time he did that, and she was pretty sure his werewolf gene was beginning to make him hyper-aware of any movement.

“You can tell me, Ty. Even if,” she chuckled breathlessly, “even if you killed someone or something, you can tell me. I’ll listen to you. I promise.”

He pressed his lips into a line and stayed silent for a while, until he finally spoke. “Fine. Okay. I…” He swallowed and for a split-second looked like he was about to cry. “I think my feelings for Caroline are going away.”

_Oh, no…_

“When did you start noticing?”

He shrugged, looking down at his lap. “A couple weeks ago.”

She pursed her lips to the side. “I think you should tell her. Leading her on will only make her feel worse.”

He sighed, long and loud. “I know. I know, but with her dad leaving her… I don’t want to break her heart even more.”

She shifted so that she was sitting on her legs. “Tyler, if there’s one thing I know about Caroline it’s that after everything that’s happened, she values honesty a lot. If you keep this a secret from her you’ll break her heart a lot more, trust me.”

He set his controller down and rubbed his forehead. “Yeah… Yeah, you’re right. I… I’ll tell her.” He smiled sadly. “Thank you.”

She leaned over and hugged him tightly. “I told you I’d listen to you, didn’t I?”

She felt his chuckle more than heard it as he wrapped his arms around her. “Yeah. You did.”

“I am _done_ with men!”

Caroline had barged over to the Gilbert house one Thursday evening and was currently smacking Angela’s pillow against her bed.

“Who needs them?” She laughed somewhat manically. “ _I_ sure don’t!”

The twins simply looked at each other, very concerned.

“Caroline, just because Tyler broke up with you doesn’t mean every guy would,” Elena said from her spot on her bed.

Caroline looked at her with furious, tear-filled eyes. “Just let me freaking rant for once, will you!? _Ugh!_ ”

“Alright,” Angela started, sitting down on her sister’s bed. “Rant, then. How did Tyler make you feel?”

“Like… like… like I’m not good enough! Like I’m _never_ good enough! Like I’m not good enough for my _dad,_ like I’m not good enough for my _mom,_ like I’m not good enough for _boys,_ like I’m not good enough for _girls,_ ” she scoffed through her sobbing, “Especially you, Angie.”

She felt her heart stop. “Wait, what?”

Caroline shook her head with a grimace. “You’re _perfect._ You’re smart, and sweet, and beautiful, and you _always_ know what to say.” _Oh. Oh, no._ “And here _I_ am, Little Miss Inadequate.”

“Caroline, that is _not_ true,” Elena said absolutely.

“Oh of _course_ it is, Elena!” Caroline said, exasperated. “You know it, too.”

“Caroline, I’m an adult!” Angela exclaimed, feeling like the world was breaking down all she had tried to build. “Of course I seem perfect compared to you, but I know for a _fact_ that I was nowhere near as beautiful and charismatic as you are when I was actually your age.”

Caroline slumped down onto Angela’s bed. “I… I’m sorry. I just,” she let out a sob, “I used to feel that way, but when you told me about yourself I stopped. I didn’t mean it, I’m just,” it was beginning to get difficult to understand her through the tears, “I’m just not in a very good place right now, Angie.”

Angela strode over to where Caroline was sitting and brought her into a giant hug. She locked eyes with her sister over Caroline’s shoulder and they shared a meaningful look.

Elena nodded. “I’ll get Bonnie and the ice cream.”

“I think I need to break up with Matt.”

Angela blinked in surprise. “Oh?”

Her sister bit her lip and shook her head. “I just don’t see it, Angie… He’s, like, got our future all mapped out and everything and I don’t even know what I wanna study in college.”

She rubbed Elena’s arm and gave her a smile. “Well, it’s up to you, Lena. He’s a good kid and you’re a good kid, but if you each want different things from life then it’s just not meant to be.”

Elena groaned and laid her head on Angela’s shoulder. “But that’s the thing. I don’t know what I want.”

She started combing her sister’s hair with her fingers. “You’re sixteen, Elena. It’s completely normal to have no idea what you want to do for the rest of your life.”

“You would know, wouldn’t you, grandma?”

“Hey!” Angela pushed a giggling Elena away from her. “I resent that.”

“Mhm, sure.” She adjusted herself so that her feet were next to her on the couch.

They spent some time in silence, each contemplating the future in wildly different ways.

“We’re supposed to go on a date today,” Elena spoke up. “I should tell him then.”

She nodded. “That might be wise.”

Elena looked at her and shook her head with a smile. “What would I ever do without you?”

Angela laughed. “You don’t wanna know.”

Elena engulfed her in a hug and sighed. “No matter what happens we’ll always stay together. Okay? Boys can come and go but we’ll always be there for each other.”

Angela smiled into her shoulder. “Always and forever.”

She heard the matching smile in her sister’s voice, though it was probably a bit less knowing. “Always and forever.”

And in that moment, all was right with the world.

Elena and Angela Gilbert’s parents died on May 23rd, 2009.

Angela had been sleeping badly for weeks beforehand. The moonstone and Emily’s necklace were in a magically sealed box in her closet, everybody she cared about knew about the supernatural, they were protected by their tattoos, and things seemed to be going miles better than they would have been otherwise. She should have been happy, and yet she considered herself lucky if she got five hours of sleep at night.

The plan was simple: stay at home.

And if that didn’t work, they’d go home by foot.

And if _that_ didn’t work, they’d go home with Bonnie, in her car.

And if even _that_ didn’t work, and they were underwater in their car, she’d try her best to knock out a window and escape with her family.

What she hadn’t accounted for was the possibility that the car accident wasn’t so much an _accident_.

Somebody was shaking her awake.

“Wh- Lena?” She pushed up off the bed with her elbows and rubbed her eyes.

“It’s the day of the party, Angie! Come on, get up, get up, get up!” She smacked her leg with a giggle and flopped down onto her bed. “There’ll be plenty of cute boys; this could be your opportunity to finally meet someone legal.”

“Elena.”

Her sister’s grin calmed into a smile. “Yeah?”

She sighed. “We… shouldn’t go.”

Elena giggled and shook her head in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

Angela sat up properly and stared at her. “ _We shouldn’t go._ ”

Elena’s smile dropped. “Why? Is something gonna happen?”

Her eyes flicked downward before she spoke. “Mom and Dad are gonna die, Elena.”

Her sister’s eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open. “ _What?_ ”

She shook her head. “We _can’t_ go to that party.”

Elena covered her mouth. “Oh my God… Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

Angela ran a hand through her tangled hair. “And have you be worried when there’s nothing you can do about it? No, I didn’t want you going through what I’ve been going through. Let’s just stay at home tonight, okay?”

Elena brought her hand back down to her lap and nodded frantically. “Yeah. Yes. Absolutely. We should have a family movie night, that way we can keep an eye on them.”

She smiled, and for the first time felt a glimmer of hope shoo some of the butterflies away. “Good idea.”

Their parents and Jeremy, though slightly confused, were completely open to the idea of a family movie night.

It was seven-thirty in the evening and she and Elena had left the house for the Mystic Grill. Cooking was out of the picture, they’d both decided, because tonight was going to be a _proper_ movie night. Or maybe _Zorro night_ would be more appropriate. Jeremy was apparently going through a phase and wanted to watch The Mask of Zorro and The Legend of Zorro back-to-back. Not that Angela was complaining; she’d watch any movie if it meant keeping her family safe.

“What should we get?” Elena asked as she adjusted her purse strap.

Angela hummed in thought. “Well we’re definitely getting fries. You can’t have a movie night without fries or popcorn.”

Her sister made a noise of affirmation and opened the door to the Grill. “Should we get burgers too, then? They’re like, the yin to fries’ yang.”

She nodded. “Definitely.”

She sat down near the bar as Elena placed their order and looked up when she joined her at the table.

Angela smiled and rubbed her sister’s arm. “You doin’ okay?”

Elena sighed deeply and closed her eyes. “I just can’t believe it… Our parents would’ve died today.”

“Honestly I’m still kinda paranoid…” She shook her head and smiled. “I’ll be fine when I wake up tomorrow and hear Mom singing in the kitchen.”

Elena smiled back. “Yeah…”

_“Katherine?”_

Angela snapped her head in the direction of the voice.

A man was stood five feet from their table, with dark brown hair and blue eyes that were wide in disbelief.

_Damon?_

From Sheila’s description of Stefan, the man next to them looked similar enough to where they might have been siblings; handsome, Italian-looking, dark brown hair.

“Umm, no? I’m Elena…” She heard her sister say and glanced at her. She looked confused.

Angela smiled as disarmingly as she could. “Who are you?”

The man blinked and shook his head before giving them a gentle half-smile. “Ah, I’m Damon.” _Yuuup. Wonderful._ His eyes focused back on her sister. “I’m sorry, you just look… you just really remind me of someone.”

“Let me guess: Katherine?” Her sister asked playfully.

He nodded with a breathy chuckle, still looking slightly dazed.

“Well,” she said and motioned to herself with a giggle, “sorry to disappoint.”

 _“Elena Gilbert!”_ the cashier shouted out.

Elena flicked her eyebrows up with a smile. “That’s me! Nice to meet you, Damon.”

Angela watched as Damon stared after her sister and spoke up. “So, _Damon_ , what are you doing in this little ol’ town? I’m Angela by the way,” she grinned, “thank you for asking.”

He stared at her and after a moment chuckled. “I’ve got family here, _Angela._ ”

Her grin widened.

He leaned down close to her and looked her in the eye. “Now tell me… _How do you know Elena?”_

 _Is he trying to compel me?_ She kept her tone as even as possible, her movements limited. “We’re twins.”

“Hmm, are you now?” His eyes widened slightly in such a way that they seemed to gain a new intensity.

“Sure are.”

“Good to know. _Forget we ever had this conversation._ ”

And in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

“Hey,” her sister said from in front of her. She held up the take-away bag with a smile. “Ready to go?”

“Sooo,” Elena started once they’d left the Grill. “ _He_ was cute.”

Angela snorted. “No way. Not happening.”

She looked at her with her eyebrows raised. “Why not? He was cute. He was legal. Well, he _looked_ legal. He was male. You _are_ attracted to men, aren’t you?”

Angela rolled her eyes. “Yes, just not that one.”

Her sister huffed. “Oh, come on, I’m trying here. What do you want from me?”

Angela giggled at her frustration.

“I will say, though,” Elena said skeptically, “He did tell me to forget I ever met him. That was pretty weird, wasn’t it?”

Angela stopped walking.

“What did you two talk about anyyy- hey.” Elena noticed that she was walking alone and turned on her heel. “What’s wrong? Why’d you stop?”

Angela raised a finger to her lips in a motion to stop talking. Elena shook her head in confusion, but shut her mouth. Angela starting walking again.

“Did you check to see if they had any popcorn?”

“U-umm, no? Was I supposed to?” Elena still looked perplexed but didn’t say anything about what had happened.

She shook her head with a smile. “Nah, it’s fine, just wondering.”

They turned to walk up the steps to the house, but what they saw made them stop in their tracks.

_What the hell?_

“Oh my God…” Elena’s voice came out shaky.

Angela walked towards the porch. “Stay out here. Call Caroline’s mom. Tell her there’s been a break-in.”

“W-wait, what about you?”

She turned to look at her. “Jeremy could be in there.” She nodded and flashed her a smile. “I’ll be fine, just call her.”

“But-”

“ _Do it_ , Elena.”

And before she could give her sister a chance to respond she was already up the steps.

The front door was busted and the handle looked to be missing completely. Once she got close enough she could see that the door was slightly ajar. After pausing for a moment to take a switchblade out of her purse, she swung it completely open.

 _Please tell me they’re okay. Please, please, please._ She swallowed back the bile that was rising in her throat as her hands began to shake from adrenaline.

She slowly walked in, making sure not to step on any of the floorboards she knew would creak. The house was completely dark, and with the minimal late evening light that was coming from the outside Angela had to focus hard to be able to see the vague outlines of the furniture and doors.

She searched the living room first. At first glance, there wasn’t anything really out of place, but when she looked harder she realized that her mother’s phone was on the floor next to the coffee table.

_Please don’t tell me this is happening._

She tried not to think about all the horrible possibilities and moved onto the kitchen and dining room. There was nothing suspect there; no broken objects, no odd-looking liquids, no vampires on the ceiling. Next was the bathroom, and when there was nothing there either, she decided with quite some trepidation that it was time to search the upstairs. She could hear the faint sound of sirens in the distance.

She checked her and Elena’s room first, since it was the closest to the stairs. Opening the door revealed everything as they had left it. It wasn’t a horribly huge room, and there was no way somebody could fit beneath the beds, so she was tempted to turn the light on when she realized they had an entire closet somebody could hide in.

_Oh God, this could be it._

She closed the door to the hallway as quietly as she possibly could and tip-toed over to it.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck. You’re such an idiot. You should’ve told Elena about the bottle in the backyard. Fuck, what’s wrong with you?_

She swung the closet door open and nearly screamed when she saw somebody inside of it.

 _“Jeremy!?”_ she whispered.

The boy was staring up at her with wide, fearful eyes. Staring _through_ her more like. He was shaking and breathing shallowly and his gaze stayed rooted to the spot where she was even when she knelt down.

_“Jeremy. Hey. Hey, you’re okay. Sheriff Forbes is on her way. What happened?”_

His mouth moved and he spoke with every one of his shallow breaths, but formed no real words. _“Fuh-hah-ma-hah-ma-ma-fah-”_

She glanced behind her, and after making sure they were alone she looked back at Jeremy.

 _“Listen,”_ she licked her dry lips with her dry tongue, _“you stay here. Okay? You’ll be safe. Sheriff Forbes will keep you safe.”_ She stood up and slowly closed the closet door. _“Just keep quiet.”_

She stepped into the bathroom that connected their room to Jeremy’s. There was nobody in there either, and she carefully entered her brother’s bedroom. She made sure to search the closet and found the entire room to be empty.

_Only one more place left to check now…_

She closed her eyes before she exited the room and could hear frantic voices coming from outside the house, including one that was very distinctly Sheriff Elizabeth Forbes.

 _It would be safer to wait for her, wouldn’t it?_ She opened her eyes and sighed. _Fuck me._

She opened the door and walked to her parents’ bedroom. She rested her hand against the handle and took a deep breath, feeling as though she might just faint. She swallowed.

_You can pass out later. Open the goddamn door._

And so she did.

Her beautiful mother with her beautiful green eyes loved to sing her lullabies even as she grew older. After a while she would run out of songs to sing and began to make her own. The lyrics never made much sense, she knew, but then again that wasn’t why Angela loved to listen to them so much.

Her mother always looked so unbelievably _happy_ when she was singing. Her eyes would light up and her mouth would smile at her in that sweet way it did, and Angela always felt loved when she looked at her like that.

Her father wasn’t as handsome as her mother was beautiful, she knew, but she also knew that he loved her more than anything else in the world. Even though they didn’t always see eye to eye and he could sometimes be a bit close-minded, she knew that she loved him, too.

As she grew older she realized that he had given her far more than she had initially thought. He hadn’t given her her eyes, or her hair, or anything physical. He’d given her the gift of memory, and of knowledge, and of _life_.

And what in the world could be more important than that?

Her mother’s lifeless eyes were the first thing she saw. She was crumpled on the floor, her head twisted so far back that it was almost hanging off of her neck. There was no blood on or around her, but what else had enough strength to snap somebody’s neck like that but a vampire?

Her father was a different story. He was in the corner, next to his desk. His head looked to have been bashed on its edge as many times as it took for his brain to start poking out. He wasn’t looking at her like her mother was. He was looking at his own corpse, a few feet away. His eye sockets were empty and angry and red, and Angela finally collapsed onto the floor.

She heard loud footsteps walking towards the room and a light shone onto the wall in front of her.

 _“Oh my God…”_ A woman spoke from behind her. _“_ Angela _?_ Angela _, are you okay?”_

She could only let out a broken whimper as it all became too much and she violently retched on the floor.

 _“Andy, get her out of here.” Buzz._ _“We have a double 187 in the_ Gilbert _residence, 2104 Maple Street. I repeat, a double 187 in 2104 Maple Street.”_

Somebody attacked her.

“Get off of me!!”

They were trying to restrain her arms, but she wasn’t going to give in that easily. _My world has crumbled, but I need to be there for Elena. For Jeremy. Always and forever._

She swung her arm out and cut her attacker with the switchblade. She heard a masculine-sounding hiss and the woman from before started talking.

 _“_ Angela _, it’s alright. Hey, it’s alright.”_

A face appeared before her and she recognized it as Caroline’s mother.

“Caroline… Caroline’s m…m…”

She nodded with a strained smile. She looked sad. _“That’s right. I’m_ Caroline _’s mom. You recognize me, right?”_

She thought she nodded but couldn’t be sure.

 _“Do you trust me,_ Angela _? I can get you out of here but you need to trust me.”_

She was sure she nodded that time.

Caroline’s mother smiled at her again. _“Good. Good.”_ She looked behind Angela. _“I’ve got her. You take over until I get back.”_

Caroline’s mother gently grabbed her arms. _“Can you stand up for me?”_

She shook her head.

_“Okay. That’s okay. I can carry you. Is it okay if I carry you?”_

She nodded, but grabbed her arm when she made to pick her up.

“Jeremy… Closet.”

She glanced behind Angela again and gave her another strained smile. _“He’s safe now. You don’t have to worry._ Elena _’s safe, too. Come on, let me take you to her.”_

“Elena…”

And suddenly she was flying. First she was flying normally, but then she swooped down. _Am I a bird? Am I looking for worms? Why am I going down?_

She saw pretty red and blue lights and a crowd gathering outside the house. A man looked oddly familiar. Perhaps she’d seen him in a dream once. He looked sad, too.

_“What’s going on? Oh my God, what’s going on, is she okay?”_

“Elena.”

_“She’s in shock. She’ll need some time. Could be up to one or two months, but she’s a strong girl. She’ll be okay.”_

_“Mom!? What’s going on?”_

_“Sweetheart, not now-”_

_“Are my parents okay!? Where’s_ Jeremy _!? Oh my God!”_

“Don’t cry, Lena…”

 _“_ Angela _said your brother was in a closet. I didn’t have time to check on him, but-”_

_Buzz. “We found the boy. He’s in shock but alive. He doesn’t show resistance to being moved, I’m bringing him outside.”_

_“-apparently he’s okay.”_

_“_ Caroline _?_ Elena _? What’s going on?”_

 _“_ Bonnie _, somebody broke in!”_

_“What!?”_

_Am I in a well? Why is there an echo? Am I a bird that’s fallen down a well?_

_“Girls, I think you should sit down. Everybody move out of the way! This is a crime scene! Patrick, help them put the tape up.”_

She was flying again. _What’s happening?_

 _“Here, you can sit down here._ Angela. _I’m going to put you down now. You’re safe, okay?_ Elena _and the girls are here.”_

“Elena…”

She finally landed somewhere. Somewhere good, because she could see her sister. She smiled in relief. “Elena.”

Her sister looked sadder than Caroline’s mom and the man from before both. _Why is everybody so sad?_

Elena tried to smile at her. “Hey. Hey, I’m here. We’re okay.” She looked behind Angela. “What happened?”

 _“_ Elena _, I’m so, so sorry. Your parents… Somebody… Somebody killed them.”_

 _“What!? Oh my God,_ Elena _…”_

_“Mom, I don’t understand…”_

“Don’t cry, Lena.” For some reason that made her cry harder.

 _“I’m taking you all to our house._ Bonnie _, you can come too if your grandmother allows it.”_

_“She’ll be fine with it, trust me.”_

_“Here, follow me. The men and women here are trustworthy, they can deal without me for a bit. My car’s this way.”_

And then she was flying once more.

It took Angela four weeks to recover. She couldn’t decide if it was better or worse this way, knowing exactly what happened.

Jeremy still refused to talk. He could understand and respond to what people were saying, and she sometimes heard him crying when he thought he was alone, but still he wouldn’t speak. They were staying with Caroline and her mom until their aunt Jenna could go through all the necessary procedures to become their legal guardian.

_I never should have existed. I’m cursed. I’ve cursed everybody I ever cared about._

Following the recovery from the emotional shock she’d suffered, Angela fell into a deep depression. She had to be there for Elena and Jeremy, though, so she hid it as best she could. She knew how to; she was sure she’d done the same thing in her past life. She suspected Elena was depressed as well, so she made certain she was there for her whenever she was needed.

They moved back into the house in early July. She and Jeremy nearly had a nervous breakdown, stepping back inside after what had happened, but aunt Jenna the psychology major made the move as cheerful as she possibly could. That made things a lot easier than they might have been. Angela was thankful that she was around.

Jenna had taken Jeremy to see a psychiatrist.

He still refused to speak, but he began to smile more often and he stopped wetting his bed at night. The three of them collectively saw that as a win.

Elena had taken to writing. She would journal daily, and wrote short stories whenever she had the chance. Angela was glad that she was channeling her pain into something creative. She knew that it helped people feel better.

She wanted to channel her pain into something creative, too, but the only thing she could think of doing was singing. And she couldn’t very well do that now, could she? Not when the thought of it only made her see her mother’s dead green eyes.

She went to Tyler one day and asked him to teach her how to draw. She wasn’t naturally talented like he was, and she often had to ask him to repeat his instructions, but he was patient with her and she eventually learned how to sketch portraits. She was far from great, but she wasn’t bad enough anymore that she was embarrassed to show people her work.

Bonnie and Sheila were a massive help to both her and Elena. Sheila would cast calming spells if they ever got too upset, and Bonnie helped them get everything out of their system. Tea at Sheila’s was a regular occurrence.

Caroline helped bring a sense of normalcy to their life. They would go shopping regularly, and she treated them like she normally would. She was still there whenever they needed to talk to her though, and Angela was proud of the woman she was becoming. Apparently she’d asked Jenna how she could help and followed her advice to a T.

She and Elena were more grateful for their friends than ever before, and they both knew it. By the time September rolled around, they were finally able to go back to living relatively normally. What happened was still a very sensitive topic, but opening her closet door no longer made Angela want to cry.

And then it was the night of September 6th, and the following morning was the first day of school.

“Are you ready?”

They were sitting down on their respective beds, facing each other.

Angela smiled. “I don’t think I’m gonna get any readier.”

Elena huffed a quiet laugh. “Yeah, tell me about it…”

She took a deep breath and laid down. “Hey. No matter what happens we’ll always stick together, right?”

Elena nodded and followed suit. “Always.” She gave a gentle smirk. “And forever.”

_Forever is a pretty long time, Elena…_

She couldn’t stop the smile from growing on her face. “…Always and forever.”


	2. Brothers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so, um, remember how I said not to expect every chapter to be 10,000 words long? This one’s over 8,000, sooo… Let’s just not have a set chapter length, okay? :p
> 
> The schedule that I’d set for my fics was that on every 1st of the month I would update Descensum, and on every 15th of the month I would update She Knew. However, I decided that I wanted to get this story rolling a bit since last chapter was just the prologue. I’ll likely be updating more than once a month because wow it’s fun to write this.
> 
> So for now, there’s no set update days for She Knew.
> 
> Thank you all so much for supporting this story! It means so much, and your comments motivate me and make my day like you wouldn’t believe ❤

**CHAPTER 1**

_**BROTHERS** _

Angela hated alarm clocks.

She’d come to this conclusion at age eleven, which was the first time she used an alarm clock. They were noisy, and annoying, and they made her want to murder somebody.

Her sister groaned. “Mmmm, God, just turn it off already.”

Angela sat up and blindly followed her command. The sharp ringing finally stopped.

“And here I thought you were a morning person.”

Elena huffed a laugh. “I was.”

Angela let out a long yawn and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. The rays of early morning sunlight were peeking through the shutters and she groaned at the thought of having to open them. Elena was groggily getting out of bed however, and she figured she should probably follow suit.

“Do you have your outfit all picked out, Lena?”

“It’s tradition, how can I not- oh jeez, that’s bright.”

Angela pulled back from the window and closed it, squinting against the light she freed. “Yeah, imagine being this close to it.”

Elena chuckled and opened the door to the bathroom. She paused for a moment and looked back at her with a gentle smile. “Hey. We’re gonna be okay.”

She nodded. “We’re gonna be okay.”

Elena’s smile grew and she entered the bathroom.

The girls and Jeremy quickly learned that Jenna wasn’t much of a chef. Angela wasn’t much of a chef either, but she took on the role because it gave her something to do; something to help keep her mind busy. She’d gotten quite good over the past few months, she had to say, and her brother clearly adored her omelets.

Otherwise he wouldn’t be scarfing one down at that very moment.

“Hey, hey, hey, easy!” Jenna exclaimed. “Slow down, Jeremy, you’re gonna choke!”

Jeremy finished the last couple bites and looked back up at her with a wide, toothy grin.

Elena snorted and sipped some of her coffee.

“Jerm’s throat is a vacuum cleaner, Aunt Jenna,” Angela smirked. “Haven’t you realized that by now?”

Jenna shook her head in amusement. “Clearly.” She glanced at the clock and a look of panic flashed across her face. “Crap! I’m supposed to be meeting with my thesis advisor!” She stood and looked at them warily. “Are you three going to be okay?”

Elena set her mug down with a smile. “Don’t worry, Aunt Jenna. We’ll be fine.”

Angela nodded. “I can drive Jeremy to school. You should go.”

Jenna wriggled a scrunchy down her wrist and tied her hair up into a ponytail. “Alright. Stay safe!” She grabbed her postman bag and was out the door in seconds.

Angela drank some of her orange juice. “Hey, Lena, can you turn the TV on to WPK?”

Elena raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Future thing.”

Elena rolled her eyes and adopted a mocking tone. _“Future thing.”_ She reached for the remote and the television flashed on.

Logan Fell was standing in front of Wickery Bridge, looking as handsome and douchey as ever, and Angela instinctively rolled her eyes.

 _“Again,”_ he spoke with his handsome, douchey voice, _“If you have any information, please make sure to report it the police. Even if you think it’s not important, I promise you: it might just be the missing piece they need.”_

Two pictures of a man and a woman, aged twenty-four and twenty-two respectively, filled the screen. The subtitle read “MISSING.”

Angela pursed her lips. _Hello, Damon._ “Alright, you can turn it off now.”

Elena did as she was told and looked at her, confused. “What was that all about?”

Angela waved her hand dismissively. “Tell you after school. Maybe.”

Her sister sighed in annoyance. “Fine.”

Jeremy tapped Angela on the arm and glanced at the front door just before a car horn sounded from the other side.

She downed the rest of her orange juice and stood. “Excellent timing, Jeremy!” She looked at her sister. “Sounds like Bon-Bon’s here. I’m dropping Jeremy off, could you clear the table?”

She was already gathering the dishes. “On it!”

Angela looked at her brother with a smile and nodded towards the foyer. “Let’s go.”

“So… How are you feeling about going back to school?”

Jeremy shrugged with a shake of his head.

“Yeah, wish I could say the same,” she sighed, turning onto Margaret Avenue.

She glanced at his curious expression and gave a tired sigh. “A lot’s gonna be happening these next few years, Jer. Just… promise me you’ll listen if I ever tell you to do something? Even if it might not make much sense.”

His hand reached over to rest on her shoulder. He nodded firmly, and she smiled in relief.

“Thanks, kiddo.”

Angela could recognize Caroline’s piercing shriek anywhere. She barely had any time to process it, however, because she was engulfed in a hug as soon as she stepped through the doors of Mystic Falls High School.

“Oh my God! Angie! You’re here! Ugh, I missed you…” Caroline pulled away, her smile brilliant.

Angela laughed. “Care-bear, we went to the Grill literally yesterday.”

She pouted. “Yeah, but this is different.”

Caroline looked beautiful, as per usual. Her blonde hair fell in gentle curls, her outfit complemented her in an attractive yet school-appropriate way, and just as Angela was going to point out how good she looked, Bonnie and Elena joined their side.

“It’s been _torture_ since you’ve been gone, Ann,” Bonnie groaned sarcastically. She shook her head with a grin. “How could we ever survive without you?”

Armed with jeans, purple converse, a bright blue sweater, and straight brown hair that framed her pretty, youthful face, Bonnie looked absolutely adorable.

Elena giggled quietly. “We couldn’t.”

On the way over to their lockers, Angela made sure to keep an eye out for Tyler and any new faces that looked like Damon.

“So,” Caroline’s tone was mischievous as she worked on opening her locker, “we’re seventeen now. Well… _you’re_ seventeen now.” She turned to give her a wicked smile. “The legal seniors are way more likely to go out with you.”

Angela snorted. “Believe it or not, Caroline, romance isn’t really on my mind right now.”

“Well,” she put her scarf away, “it’s on _my_ mind. Ugh,” she shut her locker, “I am _so_ ready to meet someone new.”

“Talking about boys?” Elena asked as she and Bonnie finished taking their books out and joined their side.

“You know it.” Caroline looked at them resolutely. “I am officially over Tyler.”

“Should I be offended?”

Angela’s eyes widened and she whirled around. “Ty!” She jumped up and grappled him in a giant hug.

Tyler laughed and swung her from side to side. “Hey there, A-game.”

She made him put her down and pulled back so she could look up at him. Waaay up at him. “Ugh, jeez, when did you get so tall? Get down here,” she tried to grab at his head, “I need to ruffle your hair.”

He pulled away from her with a grin and put his fists up in mock-defense. “No way, short-stack! My hair’s ruffled the exact way girls like best. Not happening.”

“Really?” Caroline asked, eyes narrowed. “Well, is there a way guys like best? You know, just so my _next_ boyfriend doesn’t break up with me.”

_Oof._

Tyler’s grin dropped and for a moment everybody was silent. He gave them all a tight, awkward smile. “I, uh, I’ll see you guys later.” He cast another glance towards Angela and quickly walked away.

Bonnie looked at Caroline with a raised eyebrow. “Officially over him, huh?”

Caroline threw her head back and groaned. “I’m an idiot.”

Angela rolled her eyes and swung an arm around her shoulders. “You’re a _teenager_. Come on,” she said and started leading her towards English class.

The hallway was jam-packed with students. Scanning the crowd, she saw that she knew everyone who didn’t look like a freshman. _Is he in the office, then? Oh jeez, what happens if he never even showed up?_

“Whoa, hold up,” she heard Bonnie say. When she looked back she noticed that she and Elena had stopped walking.

“What…” Elena trailed off when she followed Bonnie’s line of sight. They were looking at something in the school’s office, and Angela had a pretty good idea as to what – or rather _who_ – it might be.

Caroline led her over to them and joined in their staring. She raised an eyebrow. “Who is that?”

“I don’t know,” said her sister. “All I see is back.”

Bonnie smirked and, not for the first time, she was reminded of Sheila. “It’s a _hot_ back.”

Angela looked at her, eyebrows raised, and snorted. “ _A hot back?_ Really, Bon?”

“Oh shut up, Mrs. Looks Don’t Matter,” said Caroline. “Bonnie’s right. It _is_ a hot back.”

Just by looking at the back in question, the man in front of them seemed to match Sheila’s description of Stefan well enough. Olive-toned skin that was on the lighter side (ergo possibly Italian-looking,) brown hair with highlights that looked to have been made by the sun, and… well… that was it, really.

He was facing the secretary and she could see nothing of his face.

“Hmmmm…” Bonnie’s eyes were narrowed in thought. “Grams said my powers should start awakening this year, so what do you say? Should I try and sense what he’s all about?”

Caroline accidentally shook Angela’s arm off of her when she bounced in delight. “Oh! Yeah, do that! I wanna know if he’s a psychopath or something first.”

“First?” Elena asked with an amused smile. “Before what happens?”

Caroline rolled her eyes. “Before I make him fall in love with me, duh.”

Angela tried not to snort. _I wasn’t this boy-crazy when I was young, was I?_

Bonnie closed her eyes with a grin and took a large, exaggerated breath. “Hmmm…… I’m sensing……” There was a large pause before she finally opened an eye and looked at them. “Nothing.”

Caroline groaned.

Bonnie shrugged with a nonchalant smile. “Sorry, Caroline. I tried.”

Caroline looked at her sardonically. “I’m sure you did.”

Angela chuckled and tugged on her hand. “Alright, I think that’s enough lurking. Wouldn’t want him to turn around and see a bunch of weirdos staring at his apparently hot back now, would we?”

“No,” said her very amused sister, “we wouldn’t.” She grabbed Bonnie’s arm and started leading her towards class.

Caroline rolled her eyes and followed suit. “Fiiine… He does have a really hot back, though…”

It was the second class of the day and Angela already wanted to claw her face off. The work they had to do was relatively easy in her opinion, but the anxiety that came with possibly meeting Stefan freaking Salvatore of all people at _some_ point during the day but not knowing exactly _when_ was beginning to put her on edge.

And then history rolled around.

She and Bonnie had arrived to find Elena already in her seat, face noticeably pink. Angela shifted her gaze onto the desk she always sat at and felt her heart stop when she saw who was sitting behind it.

Paul Wesley as Stefan Salvatore had been handsome, yes, but the man that captured her gaze left her positively floored.

The man that she _knew_ was Stefan Salvatore had a face that would make a model cry. Relatively similar to his brother in that regard, except she wasn’t as stressed out as she was the day she met Damon and she was able to fully appreciate his good looks. His jawline was as sharp as a knife and his lips were pink and full. Their edges naturally curled upward, and she could only imagine how dashing he looked when he smiled. His nose was straight and his cheekbones were high, and by the time she finally got to his kind-looking, bright green eyes she could almost think again.

“Whoa…” she heard Bonnie whisper breathlessly and didn’t even have to look at her to know that she’d seen him too.

She swallowed dryly. “Agreed.”

They looked at each other’s flustered face just as Mr. Tanner entered the classroom.

“Alright!” He exclaimed with a clap of his hands. “Get in your seats, people. It’s finally time to learn about the state you live in.”

With one last shared glance, she and Bonnie hurried off to their seats. Angela tried her best to keep any blushing to a minimum, but when she was stood next to her desk and he looked up at her with a warm, inviting smile, her cheeks felt as cold as the sun.

“Did you see Hot Back Guy!?” Caroline whisper-yelled during lunch. “He sat next to me in Geometry! I almost had a heart attack!”

“He sat behind me in History,” she shook her head. “It should be illegal to be that pretty.”

“You see, Elena?” Bonnie gestured towards Angela. “Even ‘Mrs. Looks Don’t Matter’ admits he’s gorgeous.”

 _But I also know every single thing about him._ She shrugged. “Hey, just ‘cause I don’t think they matter doesn’t mean I can’t recognize when they’re blatantly impeccable.”

Elena rolled her eyes and stabbed a piece of broccoli. “Oh, okay, fine, so he’s a little pretty. What’s it matter?”

“This could be good for you!” Bonnie said, hope clear in her eyes. “He was totally shooting you looks. Going out with him could help your life go back to normal.”

_You sure about that, Bon?_

“Heyyy,” Caroline whined, “who says Elena gets to have him?”

“Oh, right, my bad,” said Bonnie. “Angie’s here, too.” She shrugged with a mischievous smile. “I guess they could just flip a coin.”

Caroline’s mouth dropped open and she let out an indignant noise that made the rest of them burst out laughing.

“Hey, um, can I sit here?”

Angela looked up to see Tyler, lunch tray in hand and looking extremely out of his element. She, Elena, and Bonnie all turned to look at Caroline, who bit her lip nervously.

After a moment she released it with a sigh. “Okay.”

Tyler gave them a smile that was almost relieved and sat down between Bonnie and Angela.

And then there was silence.

_I should say something, shouldn’t I?_

She finally cleared her throat. “Sooo… when are you two gonna talk about your breakup?”

Elena turned to her, eyes wide. “Angela!”

She shrugged. “What? They need to have this conversation sooner or later; I’m tired of feeling like I need to choose between them.”

“You don’t-”

“That’s not-”

Caroline and Tyler glanced at each other and stopped talking.

Tyler cleared his throat. “Uhh… You can go first.”

“No!” Caroline said too loud and quickly calmed her tone. “No. You go first. Really.”

“Okaaay… well, uh, I was just gonna say: that’s not true. You don’t have to choose between us. You’re our best friend.”

“Yeah!” Caroline motioned towards him. “That’s… That’s what I was gonna say, too. I’m sorry if I made you feel that way…”

Angela raised an eyebrow. “You did. You _do_. So please, for everyone’s sake – including your own – have an honest, open conversation with each other. _Soon._ ”

Tyler wouldn’t meet her eye and Caroline looked thoroughly reprimanded.

“Yes, Mom…”

“Hey,” Elena approached her after school, “you wanna come visit Mom and Dad with me?”

Angela shut her locker and turned to look at her. “Yeah, sure. Jenna texted me saying she picked Jeremy up, so we can drive straight there if you want.”

Elena nodded with a gentle smile. “Sounds good.”

“Sooo,” Angela adopted a conspiratorial tone, “talk to Hot Back Guy at all?”

She groaned. “Not you too.”

Angela laughed and turned onto Lemmon Street. “Hey, I’m your sister. It’s my job to tease you about boys.”

Elena let out a sigh. “His name is _Stefan_. And no. I did not talk to him.”

 _That’s about to change reeaal quick._ She didn’t voice her thoughts however, and silence filled the car for the rest of the drive.

Mystic Falls was lovely in September. The days were warm but not unbearable, and the nights were chilly at worst. They passed the street Caroline lived on and she thought, not for the first time, about how bizarre this new life of hers was. Bizarre and dangerous.

_Bizarre and limited._

She couldn’t remember many personal details from her previous life. Her name, appearance, her birthplace, and what her family was like were all things that escaped her. But the experiences she had? Those she remembered. She remembered visiting France and Sicily and Austria; seeing a man propose to his girlfriend on top of the Eiffel Tower; watching _Rigoletto_ from one of the boxes of the Teatro Massimo; eating ice cream in Vienna. She even knew that she lived in England for quite some time, but couldn’t remember exactly where.

But Angela Gilbert… Angela had never left America in her entire life.

 _Maybe once we catch a break we can travel the world for a bit._ She smiled at the thought and parked in front of the Mystic Falls Cemetery.

Elena hopped out, and as Angela turned the engine off she could see her sister closing her eyes and breathing in deeply. Angela left the car with a mischievous grin on her face and took a loud breath.

“Ahhh, the scent of dead people. Love it.” She slammed the door shut.

Elena turned to look at her like she was insane. _“Hilarious.”_

Angela chuckled and walked through the large, iron archway. She could hear her sister’s footsteps following her.

Walking through the garden of graves, Angela tried to look for the Salvatore brothers as subtly as she possibly could. Other than a handful of ordinary visitors however, she couldn’t see a single sign of human – or vampire – life.

Elena sighed and sat down against a statue when they reached their parents’ gravestone, and Angela looked up at it curiously. A woman that looked more like a goddess was standing with her hands pressed against her cheek and her eyes closed as though in sleep.

_Pretty…_

Angela sat down on a bench not too far away and grabbed the pencil and sketchbook that she kept inside her bag.

 _Now… What am I meant to do first?_ She made a small noise of remembrance as she recalled Tyler telling her to start by sketching the basic shapes. _Drawing a statue can’t be too different from drawing a person, right?_ She put her pencil to paper and was halfway through sketching the details of its face when she heard a loud caw.

She looked over in the direction of the noise and found a black crow resting on top of her parents’ gravestone.

_Oh, lord…_

She shifted her eyes towards her sister, who had paused in her writing and was looking up at it skeptically. It cawed again and once more after that, and flapped its wings.

“Okay,” she heard her mumble and saw her wave at it. “Hi, bird. That’s not… _creepy_ or anything…”

Angela would have snickered if she didn’t know exactly what was happening. The fog that began to crawl across the ground seemed to come from absolutely nowhere, and she felt a shiver run down her spine.

“Okaaay,” she said as she put her sketchbook back into her bag, “ _that’s_ kinda creepy…”

Elena looked nervous as her eyes followed the fog that was quickly surrounding her. The crow cawed and gave another flap of its wings. Her sister gulped audibly and stood with a start. The crow cawed.

“Shoo!” Elena shouted as she anxiously tried to drive it away. It flapped its shiny black wings one last time and flew off. She straightened up and let out a relieved breath. “That’s what I thought…”

Angela finished putting her things away and stood up. She saw the crow land on the pretty statue and tried to warn her sister just as she started turning around. “Uh- Lena-”

It was too late however, and Elena came face to face with the crow. She startled backwards with a gasp. It cawed loudly and Angela hurried next to her. Elena carefully bent down to retrieve her bag, never once taking her eyes off the bird.

“Come on, Angie,” she said. “Let’s go home.”

Angela gave the surrounding area another quick look-around but couldn’t see Damon anywhere. She nodded, beginning to feel a bit nervous herself.

Elena’s clammy hand grabbed her own and started dragging her towards the entrance of the cemetery. Before the path could turn out of sight, she slowed down and looked back to where the crow was. She breathed in a shaky gasp, and Angela glanced back curiously.

 _Aaand there he is._ The goosebumps that erupted on her skin nearly hurt.

Standing partially hidden behind an angel statue, Angela could see the silhouette of a man. The fog obscured his figure too much for her to be able to make out any discerning features, but she _knew_ that it was Damon Salvatore.

Angela tugged on her sister’s hand. “Let’s go, Elena.”

She didn’t need to be told twice, as she all but popped Angela’s arm out of its socket with how quickly she started running.

Angela struggled to keep up and watch her feet as they zipped between the trees and shrubbery that were scattered throughout the graveyard. They came to a decline, and the speed at which they were running caused Elena to trip and fall when the ground became level. Angela was barely able to grab onto the tree her sister had fallen against, and she saved herself from being dragged down with her.

She let out a hiss as pain erupted in her palm. _I think I grazed it._

“Slow down, you’re gonna get us killed,” her voice was tight, and her sister scrambled back up.

Elena turned to look at her before her wide eyes spotted something just behind her shoulder. She gasped, and Angela whirled around…

…and immediately sighed in relief.

_Stefan._

His worried eyes darted between them. “You okay?”

Elena’s face relaxed as she swallowed to try and stop her panting. She nodded quickly and glanced back in the direction they’d come from. “Were you following us?”

“No. I, uh, I just saw you fall.” His gaze shifted onto Angela and he furrowed his brows. “Did you hurt your hand?”

She tore her eyes off of his face – _this is so goddamn weird_ – and glanced down at her palm. It looked red and irritated, and she could see the marks where the rough bark had scratched her skin.

She grimaced. “Ah. Yeah.” She looked back up at him with a tense smile. “Nothing a first aid kit won’t fix.”

He nodded at her and Elena spoke up.

“So, um, what are you doing in a cemetery?” She chuckled breathlessly. “It’s not exactly a hotspot around here.”

“I’m visiting,” he said. “I have, uh, family here.”

“Oh.” Her sister looked mildly ashamed. “Right. Wow. Sorry. Tactless. I-it’s the fog. It’s making me foggy. And then back there,” she pointed, “there was this- this _bird_ , and it was all very Hitchcock? For a second?”

Angela was fighting to suppress her grin. Stefan wasn’t fighting his smile at all, and it seemed to be affecting Elena quite a bit. _He does look dashing when he smiles._

“Th-that _is_ the bird movie, right? The Hitchcock…” She trailed off and huffed an embarrassed laugh. “I’m Elena.”

“I’m Stefan.”

Elena smiled bashfully and shrugged. “I know. We have History together.”

She very nearly rolled her eyes.

Stefan nodded obliviously. “And English, and French.”

Her sister continued to get lost in his eyes as she nodded minutely. “Right…”

_Should I go? I feel like a third wheel… God, he’s gorgeous._

“Uh… You’ve got a…” Stefan leaned over and gently worked a leaf out of Elena’s hair. She’d yet to take her eyes off of him.

_Quick. Say something. This is awkward._

“So! Stefan. Your surname sounds familiar… you say you have family here… Are you by chance a founding family member?”

Stefan dropped the leaf onto the ground and looked at her. “Uh, yeah, Zach’s my uncle. I don’t know if you know him.”

Elena gave a gentle nod, her smile intact. “Yeah, he used to push us on the swing when we were little.” It seemed nearly painful for her to turn and look at her. “Remember him, Angie?”

 _More than you know._ “Of course I remember him! He’s always been nice to us.”

Stefan stared back at Elena for a moment before his eyebrows furrowed. “Did you hurt yourself?”

Elena blinked in surprise. “What?”

“Did you hurt yourself?”

“Oh… um, I don’t know…” Elena walked over to a tree stump and rested her foot on it. She pulled her pant leg up and Angela’s pulse quickened at the sight that was uncovered. _Shit, I knew this was probably gonna happen, but that is a lot of blood._

“Oh my God, Elena, we need to get you home!”

Her sister hissed as she looked at her wound. “That is _not_ pretty.”

There was movement in the corner of Angela’s eye, and she turned to see Stefan facing away from them. When he spoke, his voice was shaky and clipped.

“She’s right. You should go. Take care of that.”

Angela affixed her gaze onto her sister and saw her rolling her pant leg down.

Elena shook her head. “Really, it’s…” Her voice trailed off as her head turned to look at him. “…Nothing.”

Angela glanced back, and where Stefan had stood there was now only empty air.

“Hey, hey, not so hard,” Elena hissed.

Angela gave her an apologetic smile. “Sorry.”

She placed the ointment-covered Q-tip back onto her sister’s cut, making sure to press lighter this time. Elena sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

When she was done smearing ointment on her sister’s wound, Angela reached back into the first aid kit and grabbed a bandage.

Elena broke the silence. “You don’t think he was a… _you know_ , do you?”

Angela felt her chest fill with pride. _My sister…_ She glanced up at her as she covered the cut. “What makes you say that?” She patted her thigh. “All set.”

Elena retracted her leg from its place on Angela’s lap and set it back down onto the floor. “He freaked out at the sight of my blood… he seemed to teleport away…” She gently shook her head. “It would be my luck, wouldn’t it?”

Angela frowned. “Hey, even if he _is_ a vampire, he seemed nice. Dad was wrong, you know… Not all of them are evil.”

Elena stared at her, clearly worried. “Do you know that for sure?”

She nodded firmly. “Yes. Of course there are some that kill for sport and all, but… vampirism doesn’t automatically make you a monster. It just heightens what’s already inside of you; the bad, yeah, but also the very, very good.”

Her sister relaxed for a moment before her eyebrows furrowed. “Wait, didn’t Dad need to tell you about vampires? How do you know all of this?”

She gave a half-smile and shrugged. “I always knew. I just needed him to tell you and Jeremy.”

Elena’s mouth dropped open. She pushed Angela’s shoulder with a breathless laugh. “I didn’t know you were the evil twin.”

Her half-smile grew into a grin. “And don’t you forget it.”

Their laughter was interrupted by Jeremy trotting down the stairs.

“Jerm-worm!” Angela stood up and brought him into a quick hug. “How was school today?”

He moved his hand in a so-so motion. They both sat down next to Elena, who immediately ruffled his hair.

“Does that mean it was boring?”

He gave a giant nod, making the girls chuckle. He pointed at the first aid kit and looked to them, question clear in his eyes.

“Lena scratched up her leg,” said Angela. “And like the wonderful sister I am-” Elena let out a snort “-I helped patch her up.”

He made an ‘oh’ shape with his mouth.

She saw Elena’s eyes widen. “I almost forgot! Jer, how’ve you been doing with sign language?”

He ducked his head and grinned sheepishly.

Angela glared at him. “Don’t tell me you forgot to study again!”

His sheepish grin only widened.

Elena stood with a sigh. “Look, how about we all do it together? Every day at 5 PM, starting tomorrow, we get together at the dining table and have a group study session.” She smacked the outside of her thighs in a shrug. “Might be more fun that way.”

Angela signed the word ‘agree’ and looked at Jeremy with a raised eyebrow. He rolled his eyes and nodded.

Elena smiled. “Great. Now… I’m gonna go do some homework before me and Angie go to the Grill.” She playfully narrowed her eyes at Angela. “You should do the same.”

She rolled her eyes and stood with a groan. “Yeah, yeah… Just know that I blame our sister for taking away our quality time, Jer.”

He grinned and signed ‘agree.’

Elena lunged at him and started tickling his stomach. “Smartass!”

Angela turned and walked up the stairs, smiling widely at the sound of her brother’s bright, innocent laughter.

She’d just finished putting on some lip gloss when she heard a knock sound from the ground floor.

_Now who could that be?_

She decided she didn’t care enough to get up and check, so she busied herself with making sure that her newly-applied makeup looked good. Satisfied that it did, she started putting her things away.

Another knock sounded, but this time from behind her bedroom door.

 _“Angie, are you ready?”_ asked her sister.

She grabbed her purse and stood up to open the door. There Elena stood, and Angela motioned up and down herself as if to ask “what do _you_ think?”

Her sister gave an appreciative nod and smiled at her. “You look good.”

She flipped her wavy black hair cockily. “When do I not?”

Elena smirked. “When you’re being arrogant.”

Angela laughed as they descended the stairs, and was immediately surprised at the sight of Stefan waiting outside the door.

_Oh, yeah. I totally forgot._

Elena looked at him oddly. “You didn’t have to stay outside, you know.”

He gave an awkward smile and looked around the inside of the house. “I, uh, didn’t wanna intrude.”

Her sister shot her a glance as if to say ‘See? Totally a vampire,’ but instead said “I hope it’s okay if Stefan comes with us.”

Angela smiled at him warmly. “Of course! It’d _suck_ for the new kid to have no friends.”

Elena gave her an utterly flat look.

_This is going to be fun._

“So, you were born in Mystic Falls?”

They were sat at a large table amidst the busy, jovial crowd of the Mystic Grill, and the girls had seemingly made it their mission to dig up any and all information they could about one Stefan Salvatore.

He hummed affirmatively and set his drink down. “And moved when I was still young.”

Caroline had had her turn, so now it was Bonnie’s. “Parents?”

His gaze flicked downward. “My parents passed away.”

A silence fell over the group.

“…I’m sorry,” Elena breathed and it seemed to Angela like she wanted to hold his hand. “Any siblings?”

He gave a mildly amused smile. “None that I talk to. I live with my uncle.”

_I have to do it. I have to poke it with a stick._

“Then you _do_ have siblings?”

“Uh… yeah. A brother.” He grimaced apologetically. “Sorry, I don’t really like talking about him.”

“I’m sure Angela didn’t mean to pry,” Elena said, and shot her a glare.

Caroline sat up straight. “So, Stefan, if you’re new, then you don’t know about the party tomorrow.”

Bonnie stirred her milkshake and nodded. “It’s a back to school thing at the Falls.”

Stefan turned his head to look at Elena. “Are you going?”

Her sister looked at a loss for words, her face beginning to turn pink.

_“Of course she is.”_

Angela, Caroline, and Bonnie all glanced at each other as they spoke in unison.

Elena bit her lip in amusement, eyes still locked on Stefan. “Of course I am.”

Angela saw Tyler approaching them from where he was at the pool table.

“Hey!” She patted the empty seat next to her. “Sit down; meet Stefan.”

Tyler did a bro handshake thing with him and said “Hey, man. I’m Tyler.”

He nodded with a smile. “Hey. Stefan.”

Tyler sat down next to Angela. “I would’ve come over sooner, but I was proving a point to Matt Donovan,” he snorted. “Thought he could beat me… I kicked his friggin’ ass.”

Elena giggled and furrowed her eyebrows. “Yeah, I-I thought I saw you two talking smack at some point.”

Angela pouted. “Damn, I wish I’d been there.” She shot Stefan a playful stink-eye. “Why do you have to be so gosh-darn interesting?”

He smiled and breathed out in amusement. “Sorry, I’ll… try to tone it down next time.”

“No,” said her sister. She gave him a gentle smile. “No, you’re perfect the way you are.”

Angela hated alarm clocks.

This time, she didn’t have to wait for her sister’s prompting before blindly and frantically shutting it off. She flopped flat on her back and let out sigh that was more a whine.

She heard Elena’s sleepy chuckle and the ruffling of bedsheets as she moved around. “Good morning to you, too.”

“Shut up,” Angela groaned and covered her face with a pillow.

Her sister’s laugh was bright and happy and filled her chest with warmth. Try as she might, she couldn’t help but smile.

“The Battle of Willow Creek took place right at the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls.”

Angela could feel anger slowly building inside of her as she remembered what William fucking Tanner would say to her kind, sweet sister today. _He better not. I’ll get to him before Damon ever has the chance._

“How many casualties resulted in this battle?” His gaze settled on Bonnie and he nodded at her. “Ms. Bennett?”

She looked like a deer caught in headlights and nervously glanced around her. “Ummm… a lot?” She gave an awkward smile. “I’m not sure, but like, a _whole_ lot.”

Tanner smiled meanly. “ _Cute_ becomes _dumb_ in an instant, Ms. Bennett.”

Bonnie looked guilty and embarrassed, and Angela thought she would crack a tooth with how hard she clenched her jaw.

He rested his gaze on Matt. “Mr. Donovan,” he drawled out. “Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype?”

 _Smartass._ Her thoughts were far less sweet than her sister’s words had been just yesterday.

He gave a half-smile and his voice was nonchalant when he spoke. “It’s okay, Mr. Tanner. I’m cool with it.”

A few chuckles broke out and she smirked small. Tanner hummed and nodded sarcastically. His gaze fell in front and to the left of her, on her sister, and Angela prayed for his sake that he wouldn’t say anything stupid.

“Elena? Surely _you_ can enlighten us about one of the town’s most significantly historical events?”

She could see her shake her head. “I’m sorry, I… I don’t know.”

His eyes were hard and he spoke low. “I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Elena… but the personal excuses ended with summer break.”

She felt the blood in her veins turn cold in fury. _You’re dead._

“Perhaps you should ask me, Mr. Tanner,” she said kindly. “I was the one that found our parents’ mangled bodies, but history’s still a passion of mine… in spite of your efforts.”

There were significantly more chuckles this time. She could see one student putting his fist up to his mouth. Elena turned to look at her with a disbelieving, open-mouthed smile.

William fucking Tanner narrowed his beady little eyes at her and smiled cynically. He walked back to lean against his desk. “Or perhaps I should give you detention. Second day of school and you’re already making trouble, _oooohh_ ,” he hissed, “not a good look, Gilbert.”

_Brave man; picking on children._

She smiled at him sweetly. “My special treat to you, _Tanner_. I know how bored you get without the attention of pretty, underage girls.”

The accusation that he was a pedophile was completely unfounded, but it made him clench his jaw in anger and so she didn’t care. The chuckles became proper laughs, and she could hear Bonnie’s quiet, amused “Oh my God.”

His eyes were furious. “Alright, alright!” he yelled out. “Settle down!” He reached into his desk and took out a sheet of paper. “Congratulations, Angela. You just made plans for the rest of the week.”

She tilted her head and grinned. “Wouldn’t miss them for the world.”

There was relative silence as the class calmed down, and Tanner tried again. “Can _anyone_ tell me the casualties of this very important battle? _Anyone?_ ”

“There were 346 casualties,” she heard Stefan say from behind her. “Unless you’re counting local civilians.”

Tanner clapped his hands together and pointed at him. “That’s correct! Mr…?”

“Salvatore.”

“Salvatore, hm? Any relation to the town’s original settlers?”

He seemed to hesitate for a moment. “Distant.”

Tanner nodded and walked in front of his desk. “Well, very good. Except, of course, there were no civilian casualties in this battle.”

_Give it to him, Stef._

“Actually,” he said and it sounded like he leaned back in his chair, “there were 27, sir. Confederate soldiers… they fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong… It was a night of great loss.” He cleared his throat. “The founder’s archives are, uh, stored in civil hall if you’d like to brush up on your facts… Mr. Tanner.”

That sparked a new wave of giggles to spread through the room, and Angela couldn’t stop herself from joining in.

Elena and Bonnie crowded her as soon as they left the classroom.

“Oh my God, Angela!” Elena’s face was lit up by her bright, bright smile. “I can’t believe you talked back to him like that!”

“Seriously!” Bonnie was fighting a laugh. “Between you and Stefan…” she shook her head. “Maaan, Caroline and Tyler missed out big time.”

Angela bit her lip and bounced from the adrenaline rush that still hadn’t fully gone down. “Seriously. Ugh, I just wanted to _rip_ _his throat out_ \- oh hey, Stefan!”

Elena shot her a glare that was weakened majorly by her ensuing laugh.

Stefan stopped next to them and looked at her with a smile. “Hey. That was…” he looked down and chuckled silently, “that was pretty good, what you said back there.”

She shrugged with a grin. “Tanner’s a grade-A asshole, and no one talks about my family like that. He had it coming.” _Is that what you’ll say when he’s dead, as well?_ The fact that the thought of him lifeless on the ground didn’t bother her at all made her feel odd. “What you said was pretty good, too.”

He nodded in thanks, looking amused.

Elena let out another giggle. “Well thank you… both of you. Hey, we should get to class, but, um, Stefan,” she glanced at him sweetly, “I’ll see you tonight, okay?”

He nodded, smile still in place. “See you tonight.”

She linked her arm with Angela’s. “Now come on. We need to tell Ty-dye what my staunch protectors did.”

Angela was in the bathroom, contemplating just how much she cared about Vicki Donovan.

She didn’t have any feelings for her either way, she decided, nor did she have any feelings for her brother, Matt, but Elena and Tyler considered him a friend. Vicki getting hurt would undoubtedly hurt _him_ which would in turn hurt _them_ , and that, she decided, she didn’t like the sound of.

 _But if I don’t give Damon a plaything he might get bored and go after someone I care about…_ She sighed as she finished applying cat-eye eyeliner, and reached for her mascara.

 _They’d hate me if they found out…_ She didn’t like the sound of that, either. But some sacrifices, she decided, had to be made for the greater good.

She put on some nude pink lipstick. _And who’s to say you know what the greater good is?_

She made sure everything was applied well. _Regardless… I’m the only one with a shot at achieving it._

_Maybe it was already achieved. Maybe you screwed everything up already._

_I don’t believe that. I can’t believe that, or else I won’t be able to keep going._

_Face it, Angela… You’re a curse. Your parents suffered more than they would have because of you. Jeremy’s a mute because of you. You’re alone in this world… Just like you were in the last one._

She jumped back from the mirror and all but ran back into her and Elena’s room.

Her sister glanced up at her from where she was applying blush. “Hey… you okay?”

She nodded and forced a smile. “Yup! Ugh, I’m just so excited for tonight.”

Elena smiled and put her blusher away. “Honestly? Me too.”

Angela sat down on her bed. “Really, now?” she drawled out suggestively. “Does a certain handsome Salvatore have anything to do with that?”

She huffed and took out her lip gloss. “Isn’t this what you and the girls wanted?”

“Hey, I’m not complaining,“ she smiled. “It’s nice to see you like this.”

Elena finished applying her makeup and stood up to grab her purse. She turned to look at her happily. “Well then what are you waiting for? Let’s go.”

Angela could recognize Caroline’s piercing shriek anywhere.

“Oh my God, you made it!” she exclaimed happily, blonde curls bouncing as she rocked Elena back and forth.

Her sister laughed. “We couldn’t miss it, could we?”

Caroline pulled back and looked at her sternly. “Not if you wanted to wake up tomorrow.”

Angela giggled. “I think what Lena meant to say was ‘we _wouldn’t_ miss it.’ You look hot as hell, Care-bear.”

Caroline beamed at her. “Thanks! You look super hot, too!” Her gaze turned mischievous. “Now, what do you say we strut on over with our hot selves and find some guys to _party_ with?”

She rolled her eyes with a grin. “You go ahead. I don’t really hook up with strangers that could murder me come morning.”

“Elena!” Bonnie called out as she neared. “Angie. You’re here.”

“Hey, Bonnie,” her sister greeted her warmly.

“Hey,” said Angela, “um, I’m gonna go drink some alcohol and forget that school exists for a couple of hours. You guys have fun.”

Elena nodded at her. “Alright. Try not to do anything stupid.”

She snorted as she walked away. “Which twin had to cover your ass when you stole Dad’s tequila again?”

She could hear her sister’s shouting from behind her. “You said you’d never talk about that!”

She grabbed a beer from the cooler a good ways away from the bonfire and scanned the crowd for Vicki Donovan. The sound of MGMT’s _Kids_ was almost deafening in her ears and made her realize that she was standing only a few feet away from the stereo.

She walked away, closer to the woods, and heard someone calling her name. She turned to look at the source of the voice.

“Hey,” she smiled. “What’s up, Ty- oh my God!”

He didn’t give her time to finish talking before he picked her up and spun her around. She let out a squeak and wriggled in his grasp.

“What are you doing, you crazy bastard!? Let me down!” she tried to keep her tone firm, but her laughter ruined the effect.

He set her down with a loud, happy sigh and grinned. “Just greeting Mystic Falls’ resident badass and stander-upper to teachers.”

She narrowed her eyes at him and his giddy-looking self. “You’re drunk, aren’t you?”

He motioned around them happily. “It’s a party, Angie-wangie. I’m _supposed_ to be drunk.”

She raised an eyebrow. “ _Angie-wangie_ , huh? That’s a new one.”

He booped her on the nose. She blinked.

“Alright, Tyler, I think you need to sit down for a bit,” she said with a giggle and led him over to a bench.

“You’re not my mom,” he groaned but sat down regardless. He turned to look at her wickedly. “You’d make a hell of a MILF though.”

Her mouth dropped open and she could feel her cheeks beginning to burn. She smacked his chest. “Tyler Lockwood, what has gotten into you?”

“Alcohol, wangie… Alcohol.”

She snorted and took a swig of her beer. “Clearly.”

Her eyes scanned the crowd once more. She had to admit, the kids in charge had decorated the place beautifully. Golden hanging lights were placed everywhere and made to look like stars, the wooden gazebo looked warm and inviting, and the bonfire that they were sitting next to seemed to be dancing to the beat of the music.

“You haven’t seen Vicki Donovan by chance, have you?”

Tyler looked confused. “Uhhhh, no? Why would I?”

Her heart dropped in realization. _Who says it’s going to be Vicki? It was Tyler who dragged her into the woods in the first place, and he’s sitting right beside you._

She stood up with a start.

“Hey, um, I’m gonna go.” Her tone sounded nearly frantic to her ears, and she tried to calm down. She shot Tyler a smile. “I just remembered something.”

He furrowed his eyebrows in concern. “You okay?”

She nodded as happily as she could. “Yeah! Yeah, everything’s fine!” She leaned over and gave him her beer. “Have fun, okay?”

“Yeah. Okay. Call me if you get in trouble or anything,” he said, still visibly worried.

She smiled a bit more genuinely. “Of course, Ty. Thank you.”

Glancing to where her sister and Stefan were now talking, she made for the woods in their exact opposite direction.

_Maybe Elena and Tyler don’t need to get hurt, after all._

The woods were densely populated, and she only had to be twenty feet inside of them for most of the golden light to disappear.

 _How good is Stefan’s hearing? Didn’t he say once that it was worse than Damon’s because of his diet?_ She wasn’t willing to take that chance, however, and so she kept walking.

_What am I even gonna say? “Hellooo? Mr. Big Bad Salvatooore? I know you can easily murder me, but I just wanna taaalk!” Fucking idiot._

A twig snapped behind her and she whirled around. She swallowed dryly. _Was that an animal? Fuck. No. This is a thing they do, I remember this. If I turn around he’ll be right there, won’t he?_

“If that was you, Damon, I’d kindly ask you _not_ to eat me!”

Hearing her heart beating in her ears, she slowly turned around, and…...

……nothing. There was nothing there.

And then the wind got knocked out of her.

She gasped, her right hand instinctively reaching up to try and pry away whatever was squeezing her throat shut. She managed to keep her eyes open long enough to see two cold blue eyes staring back at her.

“D… Da-” It was hard to talk, and her left hand joined her right in order to try and get him away from her.

_Wait… My left hand._

She shoved her left wrist as hard as she could against his hand and she saw the skin begin to sizzle and burn.

In her fight to keep her eyes open, she could see his face twisting into a pained grimace. She pressed her wrist against him even harder and he finally pulled away from her, crying out through gritted teeth.

She dropped onto the ground and brought her hands up to her throat. She coughed and took a loud breath. _Fuck, can I talk? He didn’t crush my vocal chords, did he?_

“Shit,” she breathed, and felt relieved at her voice coming out normal… if not a bit hoarse.

She could see him holding the hand that she had burnt and looking at her in bewilderment.

“How do you know my name?”

She swallowed painfully. _I need some tea or something._ “I never forgot it.” She showed him her left wrist. “Vervain tattoo. Your compulsion didn’t work.”

He flashed to her eye level and grabbed her face. He turned it this side and that until finally he let go.

“Angela.”

She rubbed at her cheek. _Damn, if vampires aren’t strong._ “The one and only.”

“How did you know I was here?”

She sighed and massaged her aching throat. “There’s a lot I know that I probably shouldn’t… We can talk all about it later. For now, let’s just say that I can see into the future, okay?”

His cold blue eyes were narrowed and she finally had a chance to look him over properly.

He was gorgeous like his brother, but in a completely different way. There was a clear resemblance in their coloring and bone structure, but where Stefan’s hair was very clearly brown, Damon’s looked to be black under the low light of the moon. Where Stefan had an almost boyish charm to him, Damon’s charm was pure, unadulterated sex appeal. His eyebrows were arched, and his lips were thinner than his brother’s, and though her mind wasn’t the dirtiest in the world, she couldn’t help but imagine them twisted in a sexy smirk.

He stood and yanked her up.

_Jesus Christ, I’m not a ragdoll._

His hands were still firmly around her biceps. “Why did you come here? If you knew that I’d be here, if you knew how easily I could kill you, then why did you come?”

“Because I want to help you, okay? Now stop jerking me around like that, I’m still human.”

His eyes narrowed momentarily and he roughly let her go. She walked back to lean against the tree she’d been pinned to.

“Thank you,” she said and started combing her fingers through her hair.

They spent some time in silence, Damon simply staring at her and Angela making sure that she was okay. He’d crossed his arms, head tilted down and eyes looking at her dangerously.

Finally, he spoke. “What do you mean you want to help me?”

She sighed.

_It’s now or never._

“I want to help you open the tomb.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case I wasn’t clear enough, the characters in this story don’t look exactly like the actors that portray them in the TV show. You’re more than welcome to pretend like they do of course, but I think it’d be a tiiiny bit silly for that to be the case in the actual TVD universe (assuming it exists?? Lmao that sounded weird.)
> 
> Also, I really don’t like copying scenes from the show, but I felt like it would make too much sense for Elena to drag Angie along to the cemetery with her and couldn’t convince myself otherwise. All things considering, I don’t think it turned out too badly haha.


	3. The Truth

**CHAPTER 2**

_**THE TRUTH** _

“I want to help you open the tomb.”

There was silence.

Finally, he let out a laugh. “Seriously?”

She blinked. “Um… Yes?”

He nodded, seemingly amused. “Right, right, okay.”

He flashed in front of her, making her flinch. He placed his hand around her neck once more, but didn’t apply any pressure.

“Now tell me the truth,” he said menacingly. “How do you know about the tomb?”

She went to speak but he hushed her with an “ah, ah, ah!”

“Because you can’t _honestly_ expect me to believe you’re psychic, right? I mean, I know you’re not a witch or you would’ve done something by now, so,” he applied a bit of pressure, “either tell me the truth or this time I’ll _snap_ your neck. Capiche?”

_God, fuck, of course that wouldn’t have worked._

But she thought she knew what might.

“Katherine sent me.”

The shift in his attitude was instantaneous. His face went slack and his fingers twitched around her neck, and for a second she thought he would kill her for telling such a blatant lie.

“What?” he breathed.

_Guess we’re going with plan D…_

“W-well technically this vampire she knew sent me, but on her behalf. She couldn’t very well reach me directly, being in the tomb and all, hah, b-but um… from what I know, before they rounded everyone up in 1864, Katherine could tell that something bad was going to happen. She didn’t know what exactly, but she wasn’t willing to take that chance, and so she contacted an old friend of hers.

“She told her to come to Mystic Falls once the founding family members of the time had died and just… drop in every once in a while. Apparently she’d already been feeding you and your brother her blood, so she told her that if she ever sees either of you around to… watch over you. To make sure you’re okay, but to stay in the shadows. And… well… as it turns out, the vampire caught wind of your plan and I was the first person she saw afterwards, and…” she showed him her tattoo, “I couldn’t really be compelled, but threatening my family did the trick.”

He looked utterly bewildered, but… _Is that a glimmer of hope I see?_

“What was the vampire’s name?”

“She just went by _A._ ”

After a moment he grimaced, and when he spoke his voice was shaky. “If you are lying to me, I swear I will rip your heart out.”

She shook her head vehemently. “I’m not lying, I… _A_ didn’t want me to tell you the truth. She wanted to keep her promise of staying in the shadows, but I don’t really feel like dying tonight, so…” She swallowed nervously. “I’m sorry I lied to you. Before.”

She could see his jaw working. _Please, please, please don’t eat me._

He took his hand off of her. “How can _you_ help? You’re human.”

 _And therefore will definitely have a bruise around my neck tomorrow…_ “How about we talk about that at the Mystic Grill? My throat hurts and some honeyed tea sounds wonderful right about now.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “Fine.” He grabbed her by the arms. “Don’t. Move.”

They were gone before she could blink.

“Let me get this straight… Emily _told_ _her daughter_ about the deal we made?”

They were sat at a table in one of the far corners of the Grill in hopes of being noticed as little as possible.

Angela bit her lip, her hands wrapped around a warm mug of green tea. “From what I know, she wanted to make sure the talisman got into your hands.” She shrugged. “Keeping it a Bennett family secret apparently seemed like the best way to do that.”

He shook his head with a scowl. “Unbelievable…”

“Hey, it’s okay… Sheila Bennett lives here and she wants to adhere to Emily’s wishes.”

He crossed his arms on top of the table and leaned forward. “So then give me the necklace.”

She took a sip of tea. “I will.”

“Great!”

“If-”

“Of course…”

“-you swear to me that you won’t hurt the people I care about.”

He stared at her for a moment before smiling coldly. “Done. Now give me the necklace.”

She pursed her lips. “I wasn’t born yesterday, Damon. I’m going to get Sheila to create a… _magical contract,_ for lack of a better term.”

“And what’s going to be in the fine print of this contract, exactly?”

She raised an eyebrow. “How about I get her to come over here and you can find out?”

He narrowed his eyes. “And here I thought we were becoming friends.”

She gave a gentle smirk. “I’m not giving you lip, Damon…” She took her phone out of her purse and noticed a missed call from Elena, but figured that this was more important. “It’s pretty late and she’s an older lady, but I learned long ago that she’s a huge night owl. I’m sure she’d be willing.”

He uncrossed his arms and sat back, regarding her thoughtfully. “You know, I could just – oh, I don’t know – chop your hand off and compel you.”

She looked at him admonishingly. “In a crowded place like this? You wouldn’t.”

His eyebrows twitched. “That’s why you wanted to come here. Not because your throat hurts.”

She moved her head in a so-so motion. “Well, my throat _does_ hurt – which, thanks for that – but yes. No way was I gonna offer you a deal that could backfire like that in private.”

He smirked, and she found that her imagination hadn’t been too far off. “You know, that’s _almost_ clever.”

She grinned. “Why thank you, Mr. Salvatore. I aim to please. Now…” she raised up her phone, “shall I?”

He let out a sigh that was half a groan. “If you or that Bennett witch try anything-”

“We won’t.” She smiled small. “Promise.”

He nodded. “Call her.”

And so she did. After a phone call filled with far too many “yes, Ms. Sheila; I’m sorry, Ms. Sheila”s, she had agreed to meet them in five minutes.

And then they waited…

And waited…

_Jeez, this is awkward._

“Do you want anything to drink?”

He shot her a sarcastic smirk. “Think I’ll pass.”

She rolled her eyes. “Okaaay…”

“I do have a question, though.”

She took a sip of her tea and looked at him curiously.

“How long have you known this… _A_?”

She pretended to think. “She came to me in August. The 3rd, I think.”

He stared at her in that unsettling way of his. “Well your heart rate didn’t go up.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You think I’m lying?”

“Oh, I’m thinkin’ a _lot_ of things, sweetheart.” He gave her another one of his cold smiles before his eyes caught something behind her.

She felt a pair of hands rest on her shoulders.

“I suggest we get on with this,” she heard Sheila say. “Unless you’d prefer to think yourself to an aneurism, vampire.”

She moved from behind her and sat perpendicular to them. Damon brought his hand up to his chest in mock offense.

“The vampire has a name, witch! I’m,” he scoffed, “why, I’m almost _hurt_ that you don’t know it already.”

She sneered. “I know far more than I’d like to about you, Damon.” She turned to look at Angela sternly. “And you and I are going to have a serious talk about when it _is_ and _isn’t_ appropriate to approach ‘volatile’ vampires.”

Angela felt sheepish under her motherly, reprimanding gaze. “Yes, ma’am…”

“Now,” she took out a leaf of paper, “Angela and I have already written up a contract that seemed more than fair to the both of us.” She slid it over to Damon. “If you would like to make any amendments, now would be the time.”

He picked it up and started scanning it over, his ice-blue eyes beginning to look more and more outraged as he read on. He looked up at them and waved it in the air.

“I can’t hurt any of these people or I’ll _die?”_ He tossed it down onto the table and stood up with a scoff. “Yeah. No thanks. I’ll find the necklace on my own.”

“No, you won’t.” Sheila said, looking up at him dangerously.

Damon quickly fell back into his chair, but it didn’t seem to be of his own volition. He looked at them with wide eyes that settled on Angela. “You said she wouldn’t try anything.”

“ _I_ made no promises, vampire,” Sheila spoke lowly. “I don’t think you quite understand the situation you’ve found yourself in. Without us you’ll never get the talisman which means you’ll never get your lover back; no matter how hard you try. You don’t have the upper hand here, and I’d kindly ask you to stop acting like you do. Now… I ask you again: _do you have any amendments you would like to make?”_

She could see him clench his jaw. “How about the part where I die?”

Sheila raised an eyebrow. “What about that would you like to change exactly?”

_I think I have a pretty good idea…_

“The part. Where I die.”

_Yup._

She saw Sheila’s expression shift and Damon’s eyes went wide. He clutched at his head let out a quiet, pained cry.

 _She wouldn’t honestly…?_ Her heartbeat quickened. “Sheila, someone could-”

“Hush, child.” The edge of her lips curled up into a smirk. “If he screams he’ll expose his little secret. You won’t scream, will you, Damon?”

He certainly looked like he wanted to. He looked up at Sheila and spoke hoarsely. “Stop.”

“Sign the contract.”

His head was shivering from the effort it took to keep quiet. “Okay,” he whispered. “Okay, I will- I- stop-”

Sheila’s lips twitched upward and Damon’s head stopped shivering. He took a loud breath and rested his head down onto the table with a relieved groan.

_Jesus fucking Christ, what was that!?_

“What _was_ that?” Angela looked at Sheila, eyes wide.

She met her gaze smugly. “Persuasion.”

Angela looked around them, and when she didn’t notice anybody staring she let out a nervous giggle.

_Remind me never to piss her off…_

“That was dirty,” Damon groaned.

“Because you would have played clean…” Sheila drawled out. “Now,” she slid the contract back to him, “I need a few drops of your blood on here. Think you could manage that?”

He shot her the nastiest glare Angela had ever seen in her life and nicked a thumb with his nail. His gaze shifted onto herself and he held his finger above the paper.

 _Drip, drip, drip_ went his blood, but all she could see was Damon’s hard, icy eyes boring into her. She gulped. _He probably wants to murder me, doesn’t he?_ He pulled his finger back and menacingly licked up the excess blood. She felt a shiver rack her spine. _Definitely wants to murder me._

“Thank you, Damon,” Sheila said, and Angela finally tore her eyes off of him.

Sheila looked at her, considerably kinder than she did Damon. “I’m going to need some of your blood too, sweetie pie. Here,” she brandished a small, sharp-looking dagger, “only a bit. Don’t want you hurting yourself too bad.”

She took it with a deep breath and made a small slice on the pad of her index finger. She winced. _That hurt more than I thought it would._

 _Drip, drip, drip_ went her blood too, and when she had shed an amount equal to Damon, she pulled it back and stuck it in her mouth.

“You know…” Damon began with a suggestive smirk, “could always let me do that.”

She rolled her eyes and took her finger out of her mouth. “In your dreams.”

“Alright,” said Sheila as she rested her elbows on the table. “Make sure we aren’t spotted.”

She closed her eyes and began muttering in a language that sounded like Latin. While Angela was looking around for any prying eyes, she could see that Damon’s were solely trained on Sheila.

She felt fear grip her heart. _He’s not going to kill her, is he?_

Just as the thought came to her, the paper went up in flames. Sheila brought her hands back down and opened her eyes.

She looked over at Damon with a smirk. “Done.”

Angela sighed in relief. “You’ll get the talisman in three days’ time.”

His eyes narrowed. “Why not now?”

“Because, Damon, we hid it really far away.” She rolled her eyes. “Thought you’d have learned your lesson about not pushing too hard…”

“Well then,” he stood, “let’s go find it.”

He was yanked back down into his seat and glared at Sheila. “You know, this is getting real old.”

She had an eyebrow raised. “Would you like another aneurism? Might help you remember who’s in charge.”

Angela rubbed her forehead. “I swear to God, both of you… There’s no reason to be so hostile. You’ll get the damn thing in three days, Damon. We just signed a magically sealed contract that says I _have_ to give it to you.”

He blew a breath out his nose. “It _is_ slightly comforting to know that it’s not just _my_ life on the line…”

Sheila stood. “I’m done here.” She squeezed Angela’s shoulder. “Don’t forget what I said… You’re getting the lecture of your life tomorrow.”

She rolled her eyes fondly. “Yes, Ms. Sheila.”

Sheila swung her purse over her shoulder. “I would also suggest checking your phone. You’ve been gone from the party for quite some time.” With that, she walked away.

Her eyes widened in panic. She reached into her purse and pulled out her phone, only to find a total of ten missed calls and six new text messages. Half of the missed calls were from her sister and the other half were from Caroline, three of the texts were from Elena, two were from Tyler, and one was from Bonnie which simply read “Grams txtd me. Good luck x”

She stood up. “Shit, I need to call my sister; tell her I’m okay.”

“Yeah,” said Damon as he followed suit, “you do that. I’ll just go find some randos to chow down on until you get me the necklace.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Are you trying to threaten me with the death of innocents?”

He smirked. “You know, child’s blood in the tastiest. Oh and, umph, don’t even get me _started_ on baby blood.”

She rolled her eyes and dialed Elena’s number. “Goodbye, Damon.”

His smirk widened as he walked away. “Three days, Angel-cake.”

“What were you doing here!?” Caroline looked worried as all hell. “Are you drunk!? Oh my God, I never should’ve taken my eyes off of you!”

“I’m _fine,_ Caroline, I-”

“No,” Elena said tightly as she pulled back from their hug, “you’re obviously not. There’s a bruise around your neck.”

“What!?” Caroline’s eyes went wide and she stepped closer to inspect it.

Angela sighed. “Look, I’m sorry I worried you. I was taking care of a future thing.”

“Wh- by getting yourself strangled to death!?” Caroline looked near to tears. “God, couldn’t you have said something first? I thought… we thought that someone killed you or kidnapped you or something…”

Angela wrapped her arms around her friend’s shivering body. “I’m so sorry, you guys… I just didn’t want to put anyone else in danger. Things would’ve probably gone a lot worse if I’d dragged you along.”

She glanced at Bonnie who was looking down at the sidewalk guiltily. _Ugh, she probably feels horrible at having kept it a secret…_

Elena sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “Tyler got into a fight.”

Her eyes widened and she pulled back from the hug. “What?”

Caroline nodded minutely. “Yeah. He was drunk and worried and this one kid said something or did something and…” her eyes flicked down, “you know how he can be when he’s stressed…”

_Fuck, now I feel horrible._

“I should call him,” she said, already scrolling through her contacts.

“Um, actually?” Bonnie finally piped up. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea…”

Her eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

Caroline was biting her lip nervously.

Her sister spoke. “He seemed pretty angry when we told him you called.”

“I think he felt betrayed,” said Caroline. “I-I feel pretty betrayed, too, but,” she let out a chuckle, quiet and humorless, “I’m not gonna knock someone’s teeth out.”

Her insides felt like they were being pulled and twisted around, and though she wanted to ignore their words she put her phone back in her purse.

“We should get home…” she muttered guiltily. “I’m sorry for ruining your night.”

Elena scoffed. “Are you kidding?” She shut her mouth and let out a long sigh. “I’m just glad you’re okay. Just… promise me you’ll say something next time.”

Caroline didn’t give her a chance to respond. “Uh, no! There won’t _be_ a next time! I am not letting you out of my sight ever again. And you are totally explaining yourself tomorrow! No more ‘future thing’ garbage.”

She took another look at their three worried faces. _To lie or not to lie?_

“…Okay.”

The walk back to their house was filled with awkward silence. Bonnie and Caroline had left for their respective houses a while back, and now it was only her and her sister.

Angela glanced over at Elena’s face which was tight with an emotion she couldn’t quite discern. When they reached the porch, she grabbed her wrist before she could unlock the door.

“Wh-”

“You want to say something,” she said. “Don’t you?”

“No, I-“

“Elena,” she gave her a stern look, “I know you want to say something.”

Elena closed her eyes and when she opened them they were filled with unshed tears. “It was just… It’s what would’ve happened. With Mom and Dad. I go to a bonfire party and then our parents die.” She bit her lip to stop the tears from spilling out. “I was so sure you were dead.”

 _I totally fucked up, didn’t I?_ Her stomach hurt from the guilt and she could feel her nose burn the way it did before she cried. “Lena, I am so, so sorry.”

Her sister shook her head and unlocked the door. “No, just… We’ll talk about it tomorrow. With the girls and Tyler. Okay? I… I just need to be alone tonight.”

Before she could get a word out in response, Elena had all but run up to their bedroom.

She stepped inside the house and closed the door behind her. She walked up the stairs to check on Jeremy, but before she could open his door she saw her sister exiting their room with a pillow and blanket in her arms.

Angela blinked in confusion. “What are you doing?”

Elena glanced at her and immediately looked away. “I’m sleeping on the couch.”

“Seriously?”

Her sister only sighed and started walking down the stairs.

 _Greater good, huh?_ She pressed her lips together in an effort to stop their wobbling. She slowly opened Jeremy’s bedroom door and when she found him safely in bed, stayed a moment longer to make sure he was breathing. He was, and she closed the door as quietly as she possibly could.

She entered her and Elena’s room. _When even was the last time we slept apart?_ She gave up on trying to remember, and after kicking her shoes off she sat down at the window seat. She reached down into its right-hand drawer and retrieved the notebook she’d gotten mid-July.

The first day Sherriff Forbes was sure she’d recovered from the shock she’d suffered she had sat her down in the living room and taken her testimony. They found that they both suspected whoever killed her parents to be a vampire, and a week later – after much pleading on Angela’s part – Liz had given her their case file. Most of the injuries they’d sustained she’d seen before the police arrived, but what she hadn’t seen was that in addition to his missing eyes her father had also had his hand cut off.

Angela’s eyes skimmed over the bullet point that read _“Killer knew about the Gilbert rings.”_

That bit of information had shortened the suspect list by quite a bit.

The first person her mind had gone to was Isobel. She obviously knew about the rings because of John, but why would she murder them? Could it have simply been an act of reckless bloodlust? No, she’d decided, because if it was she’d have drained her mother.

The second person her mind had gone to was Katherine. She knew about the rings because of either Emily or Isobel, but again, what would her motive have been? Besides, why would she have come to Mystic Falls before she was ready to get everything together for Nik? Angela tried to recall if there was anything said in the show about Katherine wanting to mentally break Elena in order to make her give herself up but came up blank.

_Then again, in the show my parents’ deaths were an accident…_

Finally, she thought of Augustine. The vampires that were held there had more than enough reason to want to kill her father, and her mother by proxy. They might have overheard something about his ring.

_But wouldn’t he have been acting weird if any of them got out?_

She tried to recall his behavior in the days just before his death, but couldn’t remember him acting any differently.

_They could have escaped that evening…_

She’d made a note to visit – or break into, if it came to that – Whitmore College at some point, but hadn’t felt herself strong enough mentally. She still wasn’t sure if she was. She would visit at some point however, she’d resolved, and even if she found nothing to point her to her parents’ murderer, she would at least rescue Enzo.

_Enzo…_

She felt her heart drop in realization.

_…and Damon._

He had been there the day of the murder. They had spoken mere minutes before she had found her parents’ bodies. He’d learned her surname.

_Wait. No. Don’t freak out. He didn’t know about John’s ring, remember?_

_Or maybe he only pretended not to…_

_“I could just – oh, I don’t know – chop your hand off.”_

Her heart felt like it was going to burst from her chest and she found herself shaking her head in disbelief.

_Things have changed, Angela. It used to be a car accident. An accident. How do you know this hasn’t changed as well?_

She looked at her list of suspects, and with a cold, clammy hand wrote down _“Damon.”_

The next morning she woke to find her sister asleep in her own bed. She glanced at the alarm clock on her nightstand and found the time to be ten minutes before it was due to ring.

_Wonder what caused her to have a change of heart…_

She decided she would ask her when she thought she’d be willing to talk about it and made for the bathroom.

The shower’s water was scalding hot and very nearly burned her skin before she saw the steam, but she quickly pulled her hand back and fiddled with the knob until it was the right temperature. She stepped inside with a sigh.

 _Tomorrow’s the night of the comet. That means Anna will be here. Anna and that man… who was he, again?_ She decided it was unimportant. She remembered him being young and Caucasian, and that was all she needed. Mystic Falls wasn’t a very large town after all, and it was home to only one motel.

She heard the alarm clock go off just as she finished patting herself down with a towel. She wrapped it around her body and exited the bathroom to find her sister blearily reaching over to try and shut it off. It seemed a hair’s breadth too far from her though, and Angela decided to take pity.

With a quiet _click_ the ringing stopped and Elena flopped back onto her bed in relief.

Angela tentatively decided to test the waters. “Good morning.”

Elena rubbed her eyes and sat up. “Morning.”

She awkwardly shifted her weight from one foot to the other and pointed back at the bathroom. “I, um… The bathroom’s free if you want to use it.”

Her sister looked at her with a small smile. “I’m sorry.”

For some reason her words made her feel even guiltier. Angela shook her head. “No, Lena, you were totally right. I-I should’ve known. All I wanted was to keep you safe, but I didn’t stop to think how my actions would affect you…”

Elena got up from her bed and stretched. “Well, you’ll have plenty of time to explain yourself later today.” She started walking towards the bathroom, but Angela spoke up.

“Hey, um, what made you sleep here after all?”

Elena glanced down at the floorboards bashfully. “Stefan stopped by. We talked for a while and…” she looked back up at her, “he helped me realize how important family is.”

_That’s right… He would’ve come over last night._

Angela raised a teasing eyebrow. “You just… _talked?”_

She rolled her eyes, smile growing wider. “Yes, Angie, we just talked.”

“Wait… Did you invite him in?”

Her smile dimmed. “No. We talked out on the porch swing. I didn’t want to take the chance.”

_Should I tell her? If I’m gonna tell everyone the truth about last night I need to tell her this as well._

Angela took a long breath. “Elena… You were right.”

She looked confused. “About…?”

“Stefan’s a vampire.”

As the words left her mouth she immediately regretted them. It was too late to go back however, and so she steeled herself for her sister’s reaction.

She could see her breath get caught in her throat and her face pale a couple shades. “Oh my God…”

Angela hurried to speak before she could jump to any conclusions. “But he’s one of the good ones! I promise. He wouldn’t… He wouldn’t hurt you unless it was in self-defense or something and even then, he wouldn’t like it.”

Elena’s face regained some of its color and she swallowed. “A-are you sure? Was he in the… um… TV show?”

She nodded. “He cared about you a lot. And you cared about him. He’s one of the good ones, Elena, I swear. I, um, I was gonna let him tell you, but… you don’t seem to like it when I keep secrets from you, and I can’t really explain what happened yesterday without you knowing about him… I-I mean I _could,_ but you’d probably be even madder at me when you found out…”

Her sister took a deep breath and exhaled with a nod. “Thank you. I… wow.”

She chuckled breathlessly. “I know, right? But, um, you can’t let him know you know. He’ll want to know how you know and you know that we shouldn’t tell people about what I know and _wow_ that’s a lot of knows. Can you tell I’m nervous?”

Elena let out a laugh. “I won’t let him know. I promise.” She reached over and pulled her into a hug. “Thank you, twinny. It… it really means a lot.”

She sighed. “If I ever lie to you it’s only because I think it’s for your own good, you know…”

Elena pulled back, hands still on her shoulders. “Angie… I can handle the truth. What I _can’t_ handle is you lying to me so many times that I don’t feel like I can trust you anymore.” She shook her head. “If you want me to pretend like I don’t know something because it’ll put me in danger, I can do that. Okay? But just… don’t hide it from me.”

Angela smiled sadly and reached up to pinch her cheek. “But you’re terrible at pretending.”

Elena looked at her indignantly, causing her to emit a soft chuckle. After a moment, her expression morphed into a loving smile. “I can be good at it for you.”

Tyler had been avoiding her all day. He would look away with an angry, hurt expression on his face whenever she tried interacting with him, and with a lump in her bruised throat she simply had to accept that they would speak later, at the meeting.

She had the sneaking suspicion that Bonnie was avoiding her as well; likely more out of guilt than anything. She imagined that helping her lie to their closest friends was taking a bit of a toll on her, and though it made her heart hurt she knew that she would probably do the same if she were in Bonnie’s shoes.

Caroline was at least attempting to hide her feelings, but there were awkward silences where there had been none before, and she made excuses to leave whenever their conversations dragged on for a second or two too long.

Angela didn’t want to burden Elena by making her feel like she had to choose between her and the rest of the _MFMs_ , so she made some half-assed excuse about needing to study and went to spend her lunch break on her own.

Until Stefan Salvatore approached her.

She’d been sitting under the large oak tree behind the school, having finished the apple she had gotten only so her nervous stomach wouldn’t be completely empty. She was reading from her history textbook when she heard the sound of footsteps on grass drawing nearer.

Glancing up when she noticed a figure in front of her, she saw him looking down at her with a confused expression on his face.

She smiled at him. “May I help you?”

He huffed in amusement, hands going to rest in the pockets of his hoodie. “I just… thought you’d be with Elena and the others.”

She shrugged. “We kinda got in an argument last night. Me and Elena are okay now, but she shouldn’t have to sacrifice time with her friends for my sake. I can survive being alone for a day.”

He took a hand out of his hoodie and gestured next to her. “Mind if I join you?”

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. “Oh, uh, no. Not at all. Go ahead.”

He shot her a smile and lowered himself down onto the ground, arms moving to rest on his folded knees. He looked over at her textbook and seemed amused by what he saw. “Victorian period, huh?”

_Oh. Yeah, guess that is what I was reading about, wasn’t it?_

She shrugged one shoulder with a grin. “Always had a thing for silly-looking hats and poofy dresses.”

He chuckled. “Always preferred the famine and slavery myself.” He glanced to the side. “Uh, I’m… joking of course.”

She let out a laugh. “You know, by saying _I’m joking_ afterwards you kinda ruin the joke.”

He nodded slowly, as though memorizing her words. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”

She closed her textbook with a chuckle. “What’s your favorite time period, anyway? You seem to know your history pretty well.”

His head leaned back to rest against the tree and he hummed in thought. After a moment he turned his head to look at her and she fought to keep her heart from fluttering at their proximity. “Would you hate me if I told you it’s the 1980s?”

She looked at him in disbelief. “The 80s? Really?”

He scrunched up his face. “You hate me, don’t you?”

She shook her head with a breathless chuckle. “No, no, of course not, I just… I wasn’t expecting something so… _recent_.”

He shrugged with a smile. “Hey, you have a thing for silly-looking hats; I have a thing for hairspray and rock music.”

She sat up with a start. “No way! I love 80s rock! Who’s your favorite artist?”

His eyebrows rose. “Well, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a soft spot for Bon Jovi. You?”

“Oh man, there’s so many… Rolling Stones, Queen, Billy Idol, Guns n Roses, I don’t know if I can pick just one…”

He seemed to be considering something. “You know… I have an early copy of _The Works_ that was autographed by Freddie Mercury himself.”

She felt her eyes widen. “Seriously!?”

He chuckled. “Yeah, my, uh, my dad was a fan. I could give it to you if you want.”

She tried to calm her tone, but her body was still shaking from excitement. “Oh, well, I don’t want to make you have to part from something that was your dad’s…”

He shook his head with a smile. “No, don’t worry about it. I have boxes of his stuff I’ve been trying to get rid of for years now.”

She bit her lip in an effort to keep from grinning. “Well, if you’re sure…”

“I’m sure.”

Her grin broke free and she couldn’t keep herself from squealing in delight. “Okay!”

His laugh was warm and genuine, and she couldn’t help but feel as though she might be making a new friend. The thought, though somewhat rare, wasn’t unpleasant in the slightest.

Caroline approached her after school, with Elena and Bonnie in tow.

Angela had gotten her iPod out of her bag and was in the process of plugging in her earphones when she heard her bright voice from behind her.

“Angie!”

She turned around and looked at them curiously. “Uhhh, yeah? What’s up?”

They stopped in front of her and Caroline bit her lip nervously. “Um, well, I asked Lena and Bonnie to go to the Grill with me, but it just wouldn’t feel right without you there, and _God!”_ she slapped some hair out of her face with a huff. _“_ Today’s just been so sucky without you! I miss you…” She stuck a hand out and looked at her hopefully. “Friends?”

Angela shook her head with a smile and pulled her into a tight hug. She felt Caroline relax against her as she quickly reciprocated.

“Friends.”

Their time at the Grill passed uneventfully. Angela didn’t mind. After last night’s events, uneventful was more than welcome. The awkwardness between her, Bonnie, and Caroline had dissipated for the most part when Caroline insisted Angela finish both their burgers after she accidentally found out that she’d barely eaten all day. The girls had parted, with Angela telling her sister that she would be home in time for their sign language study session and the _MFM_ meeting that would follow. Then, she was off to the Iron Horse Motel.

The receptionist was a kind middle-aged man named Marcus. She asked him if there had been any rooms checked out by a young Asian woman by the name of Anna who was with an equally as young Caucasian man, but he told her that nobody matched that description. She gave him her phone number in case they did stop by and decided to head back home. She would’ve liked to scope out the place some to see if Marcus had been telling the truth, but without a witch or a vampire to help her she was sure she would look quite suspicious.

Her, Elena, and Jeremy’s study session had been rather pleasant. Jeremy was a very smart kid, even if he didn’t like to put in the work a lot of the time, and he quickly caught up to them in one short hour. She had to credit her sister for the idea, as studying together was indeed a lot more fun. At one point, Angela and Jeremy had taken to pelting each other with balls of paper when Elena wasn’t looking, but a cheerful giggle of his got them caught. Elena had tried to be stern when chastising them, but Angela and Jeremy both had seen the smile she’d been trying to hide.

The clock read eighteen. First to arrive was Bonnie, as she lived closest. She brought the spelled bundle of sage Angela had asked for and had it lit in her and Elena’s room. Next had been Caroline who, bless her heart, had brought a ton of junk food. Her reasoning had been that people wanted to eat when they were having stressful conversations, but by the glances she kept shooting her when she thought she wasn’t looking, Angela suspected that she was trying to make sure she wasn’t starving herself. She made a mental note to buy her something in thanks. Last to arrive was Tyler, who still seemed to be avoiding her.

Earlier in the day, she and Elena had debated whether or not to involve Jeremy in the conversation, as he had no idea what had happened last night, and eventually decided that they would have a private conversation with him later. Their discussion had been somewhat in vain however, as right after their study session he had gone off to play video games at one of his friends’ house. They were glad that at least they wouldn’t risk him feeling excluded.

They were all sitting on the floor of her and Elena’s bedroom with the bags of chips and cookies and licorice sat in the middle like they were attempting to conjure some kind of sugar-coma demon.

Angela’s heart was pounding in her chest and she was doing her best to sit calmly and not fidget like she wanted to.

She took a breath. “Okay… I don’t have a speech prepared or anything, so how about you guys ask me questions and I’ll do my best to answer them?”

They all looked at each other and she expected Caroline to jump at her with a question, but to her surprise it was Tyler that spoke.

“Why’d you freak out and run into the woods?”

She took a look at his tensed jaw and thought on how to string her words together. “There was a man in there. A man I wanted to make a deal with before he hurt anyone I love.”

Elena furrowed her eyebrows. “What do you mean _a man?”_

She looked to the side nervously. “I-I mean a vampire.”

Their eyes widened. _“What?”_

Only Bonnie had stayed silent. She looked at her with a relieved smile. “We’re telling the truth, then?”

Elena, Caroline, and Tyler turned their heads to look at her in bewildered confusion.

“What do you mean, Bonnie?” Caroline asked.

Bonnie closed her eyes and shook her head. “This is Angela’s story. She should be the one to tell you.”

They snapped back to look at her and she gave an awkward smile. “Thanks, Bon…” She cleared her throat. “Um, anyway, I thought that the man would attack and feed on Vicki Donovan. That’s why I asked you about her, Ty. I’d initially planned on just saving her, but then realized that I could do so much more…”

And so she told them everything. She told them about Damon – _“Wait, so Stefan’s brother is a vampire?” –_ and about the tomb – _“And you want to help him why exactly?" – _and about the deal they made – _“I am not going to let you die.” – _and by the time she had finished a few tears had been shed, a lot of hugs had been shared, and they’d all told her how much they cared about her. She’d sworn them to secrecy, saying that only Sheila Bennett knew the truth and that it was imperative Damon not find out.

Bonnie nodded firmly. “I can keep a secret.”

Caroline nodded as well, far more enthusiastically. “So can I, if it’s life or death like this.”

Elena smiled and squeezed her shoulder. “You already know I’m good for it.”

Tyler sighed and brought her into a tight hug. “Anything for you, Angie.”

Surrounded by the people she considered family, Angela felt confident that she could tell them anything. _Keeping secrets was Elena’s biggest mistake._ She closed her eyes with a smile. _One I won’t be making any time soon._ Aunt Jenna, she decided, would know about vampires within the week. And this time, she wouldn’t let her die.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I absolutely did not intend for Angie to tell everyone the truth, but then I realized that Elena and the others would get worried and want to know what happened, and one thing led to another, and… well… here we are.  
> Also, I can’t tell if the ending is too abrupt. I’ve been staring at this too long haha. Hope you enjoyed it regardless! :)


	4. A

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo… this year’s been pretty wild so far, hasn’t it? Ngl, I’ve been feeling pretty down recently and have been focusing more on self-care and not being stressed 100% of the time, so I’m sorry for not updating in a while. I hope nearly 9,000 words will help make up for it. I’m doing much better now, by the way, so please don’t worry about me haha.

**CHAPTER 3**

_**A** _

Sheila’s house, like most of the houses in Mystic Falls, was quite simple in its design. Unlike most other houses, however, its wooden shingles, quaint little porch, and red-brick chimney always made Angela feel at ease. With all the evenings she and her sister had spent inside, it had practically become a second – or third, after Caroline’s – home. Sheila wasn’t only Bonnie’s grandma, but the twins’ as well. Bonnie was their sister. And the sight of the older witch glaring at her from the other side of the door was an all too familiar one.

“The hell you doin’ here?” She was dressed in a soft-looking robe with her hair tucked away in a patterned silk wrap. As if that wasn’t enough to clue her in, her slurred words threw away any doubt she might have had.

Angela gave an awkward grin. “Besides waking you up?”

Sheila glared harder as if to say “exactly.” She sighed. “This gonna take long?”

“Umm… depends?”

She rolled her eyes and walked away from the door. “Come in then. Crazy girl…”

Angela did as she was told. She heard Sheila turn the kettle on and made to follow her into the kitchen. Sheila was on her way out, however, and gave another glare when they bumped into each other.

“Now,” Sheila sighed as she sat on the couch, “what do you want?”

“Um, well, I think that first an apology is in order? I didn’t realize you were still asleep.”

“Thank you,” she drawled in that lovingly sarcastic way of hers.

Angela cleared her throat and dug the plain-looking box out of her bag. “I think it’s about time we separate these. Keeping them together isn’t convenient anymore.”

Sheila raised her eyebrows and hummed in acknowledgment. “I was going to come to you about that later today.” She yawned and took the box. “Give me a minute and I’ll get a second one ready for you.” Her words were much clearer now that she’d woken up a bit. She disappeared into her bedroom and Angela followed out of curiosity. She was looking through her dresser drawers.

“Don’t you have any spare ones on hand?” Angela asked; not in a demanding way, but in a simply curious one.

“I do, but since we aren’t in a hurry it’d be best for me to make you a new one.” It turned out that what she was looking for was – surprise, surprise – a box, not too dissimilar in appearance from the one she’d previously given her. When she finally found it, she stood back up to her full height and made to exit the room. Angela had the foresight to move out of the way this time. “I keep one or two of these things in case of emergency, and besides, they’re spelled differently than yours.”

She wanted to ask _“What sort of emergency requires a magically sealed box?”_ but the mental image of someone breaking into the house and looking to steal something important was enough to answer her question.

“Sit down. You’re giving me a headache,” Sheila’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she realized she was still following her around the house. Angela sat down on the comfortable, beige couch and waited for Sheila to return. She did so shortly thereafter, with the box in one hand and a cup of Bennett brand whiskoffee in the other.

Angela scrunched her nose up at the smell. “How much did you put in there?”

Sheila set the box – which she could now see contained a needle and a lighter – onto the coffee table and took a sip. She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully and Angela could see the liquid sloshing around in her mouth. Finally, she swallowed and nodded. “Enough.”

Angela shook her head in disgust. “Right… anyway, is this gonna be the same as last time?”

Sheila hummed affirmatively and looked up at her with an apologetic smirk. “Been asking you to bleed an awful lot lately, haven’t I?”

She chuckled. “At least you don’t make me slice my palm open for no good reason.”

Sheila picked up the needle and muttered a spell on the hand that was holding it. _It’s so she doesn’t burn,_ she remembered, but thought it was a bit pointless to do in her own home. “Why don’t you just get an oven mitt? Doesn’t this waste your energy?”

She raised an eyebrow and picked up the lighter. “I do hope you know it’s impolite to criticize a witch’s work when you’re so young and human.”

Angela leaned forward and rested her arms in her lap. “I’m not criticizing… I’m just curious.”

Sheila started sterilizing the needle. “When you’re hungry, do you always order take-out? Or do you sometimes cook to make sure you haven’t forgotten what to do? Magic is natural, just like one’s inherent ability to make food. Cooking is a craft. _Witchcraft_ is a craft.” She winked at her and snapped the lighter closed. “That’s why it’s in the name. Now, give me your hand.”

Angela did as she was told. Sheila’s hand was warm and motherly, and she didn’t realize that her shoulders were tense until they relaxed at the feeling. The needle neared her index finger.

Sheila stared at her. “You’re doing this willingly, correct? You don’t feel pressured by me or anybody else to be a part of this.” The words were unnecessary on a personal level, but needed for the spell. If the box was sealed by her blood _voluntarily_ , then it could only be opened by her blood _voluntarily_. This was so it couldn’t be broken into. Not easily and not without repercussion, at least.

Angela nodded. “I’m doing this willingly.” The needle stung a bit and her eye twitched, but it was nothing compared to the pain she felt the night she spoke with Damon. That pain she was reminded of every time she spoke.

Sheila let go of her hand. “First we need to open the old box, so could you please touch it with your finger?”

As she did so, she swore she could _feel_ it unlock, though she had no magic herself. She swung the lid open to see the smooth, pearlescent moonstone lying right next to the old and intricate-looking amber talisman. She withdrew the stone, and after placing it inside the new box, she closed them both. She looked to Sheila. “How do I re-lock it?”

“It’s bound to you,” she said. “Will it to lock.”

Angela furrowed her eyebrows and looked at it so forcefully she thought she must have been glaring. _“Lock,”_ she thought, and felt it comply. It was an odd feeling, and one that made her feel stupidly powerful for a human. _I can only imagine the rush witches get…_ “I think I did it.”

Sheila wiped away the blood that remained on the box and tried hard to open it with her hands. It didn’t budge, however, and she nodded with a kind smirk. “Well done. You remember what happens now, right?”

She nodded and placed her bleeding finger on the box that contained the moonstone. This one was a bit smaller, she noticed, and a lighter wood. _It’s good they don’t look the same. Wouldn’t do to get them mixed up._

Sheila rested her hands on top of her finger and began muttering in that language she always used when casting. Angela wondered if it was possible for her to learn it. It might come in handy, even if she couldn’t use it for spellwork.

A few seconds later, Sheila took a breath. “Take your finger off the box.” Angela did so and immediately stuck it in her mouth to try and stop the blood flow. It was a shallow injury, if it could even be called that, and wouldn’t take long to heal. Sheila wiped the blood away from the lid and tried to pry it open, once again, to no avail. She nodded in satisfaction. “All done. Where are you planning on hiding this? Keeping them both in the same place would be unwise.”

Angela drew her finger from her mouth and nodded. “Agreed. Would you happen to have any wolfsbane on hand? Say… enough to make a well’s worth of water _really_ hurt?”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Odd request, but I should’ve known better. Are the Lockwood boys getting into trouble?”

 _Of course she’d know about them._ She tilted her head and thought about Mason, who Tyler had said was always good to him. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”

Sheila stood up. “I never use it,” she called as she walked into the kitchen, “but I should have enough for you somewhere. You don’t need much, to be honest. Even two or three little stems full of flowers would sting, but…” She came back to the living room with a bucket in her hand. She set it down on the floor where Angela could see. She couldn’t possibly count it all. Sheila tapped the bucket with her foot. “This should be more than enough. I’d like to keep some for myself, of course, now that I know we’ll be having wolf trouble.”

Angela nodded and placed the boxes into her bag. “Of course. It’s yours, keep as much as you want.” As much as she wanted, apparently, was about a third, though the remaining amount still looked like it was enough for what she had in mind.

“I assume you’re planning on hiding the stone in a well?”

She smiled. “Taking a page out of the Katherine Pierce Book of Bitchery. There should be enough vervain stored in our house now that we don’t really use it on anyone but Jenna. If I dump both herbs in a well along with the moonstone, only a witch or a human could swipe it. Even then, it’d be pretty damn hard to break into the box, and with a locator spell we’d hopefully be able to find it before anything horrible happens.”

“Katherine Pierce…” Sheila narrowed her eyes. “That’s your sister’s doppelgänger, isn’t it?”

“Sure is.” Her smile turned sarcastic. “Did you know she was one of my favorite characters?” She shook her head. “Now that she actually exists, I don’t quite feel the same way.”

“I’d imagine.” She glanced at the black analog clock above the television. “You should head to school. Leave me to gussy up and put my face on.”

Angela grabbed the bucket and stood. “Yes, Ms. Sheila.” She neared the front door before she remembered something and spun back around. “Oh! Don’t forget to stake out the motel tonight, pretty please.”

They’d had a bit of an argument over that. Sheila had, surprisingly quickly, caught on to the fact that Anna’s timely arrival had to do with the tomb. She’d argued in favor of killing both her and Pearl before they had a chance to wreak havoc on the town, but Angela had brought up the fact that it’d be far more beneficial to keep them as allies. She had to appeal to Sheila’s emotions a bit, bringing up her own dead mother as a reason for why this was important to her, but she finally relented.

Sheila rolled her eyes. “Please. I never forget a thing.”

She smiled in relief and opened the door. “Great! Have fun getting dolled up.”

Sheila smirked and laughed deep in her throat. “Trust me, baby, if I ever got dolled up, I’d steal Stefan Salvatore away from you.”

She nearly choked on her own spit. “Wh- he’s Elena’s to steal from!”

Sheila raised an eyebrow. “Why’s your face burning up, then?”

She brought a hand up to her cheek and saw that it was very, very warm indeed. Not that she’d ever admit that. She scowled, embarrassed. “Get dressed, you old hag!”

Even through the door she slammed shut she could hear the witch’s cackling.

School was boring, as per usual. Boring teachers, boring lessons, boring, boring, boring. That is, until Bonnie touched Stefan.

It happened in front of the Geometry classroom. They were on their way to Spanish class and the hallway was jam-packed full of students. She should have seen it coming, really, considering how impossible it was to move without grazing somebody.

“Ugh,” Bonnie grunted as a senior shoved past her, “can’t you just tell me? I need to know if my boys’ll defeat Lucifer.”

Angela shook her head with a smile. “Sorry, Bon-Bon. Maybe you could try a divination spell or something.”

She breathed a sigh. “I’ve been trying all sorts of different stuff recently, but nothing’s been working. I can’t help but feel like there’s something wrong with me.”

“You’re a Bennett. I’m sure things’ll come to you naturally.”

“Yeah, that’s what Grams keeps saying, too. I don’t know… I feel like I might just need that one initial push or some-”

A gasp cut her off, and Angela turned her head to see her frozen in shock, eyes locked on an apologetic-looking Stefan.

“Sorry,” he said, “I didn’t mean to bump into you that hard.”

Of all the times he had to have his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, it was when the only witch in school was wearing a tank top. He had to have heard Angela’s pulse quickening.

Bonnie seemed at a loss for words, so she decided to help her out. “Don’t worry about it,” she forced a laugh. “Talk to you later, Stef!”

Bonnie swallowed and tried to smile at him, but she looked too bewildered for it to be convincing. “Y-yeah, don’t worry about it.”

He looked at her oddly, but flashed another apologetic smile before he disappeared into the crowd.

As soon as they reached their destination, Angela sat in the desk right next to Bonnie’s. “Are you okay?”

She looked at her, wide-eyed and confused. “I-I don’t know? When he bumped into me, I felt… weird.” She shook her head. “It’s probably nothing. Don’t worry. It’s nothing to worry about.” She sounded more like she was trying to convince herself.

“Bonnie. It’s me you’re talking to. There are few things weirder than me and my situation. You can tell me anything.”

She closed her eyes for a few seconds, and when she opened them they looked significantly less wild. She gave a tight smile. “It’s nothing to worry about.”

Angela frowned.

“Hey, uh…” She looked up to see Chad Isaac, a boy that Klaus might one day use. “You’re in my seat.”

She blinked. _Do I care about him? Do I have enough energy to care about him?_ She leaned back and cocked a brow, feeling somewhere inside of her like she might be a monster. “Sit somewhere else.”

“Well, anyway, you guys’ll be there, right?” Caroline stirred her lemonade with her thin, black straw.

They were sat around one of the outdoor tables of the Mystic Grill. Practice would start next week, so Angela had called for them to all hang out while their workload still allowed it. Or at least, that’s what the official story was.

Bonnie gave a sarcastic laugh _._ “I _might._ Wouldn’t be too happy about it, though…”

Tyler crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat. “Yeah, didn’t you say something about the comet being a bad omen?”

She snorted. “Try _sign of impending doom._ Grams seemed pretty worked up about it, but said I should enjoy myself regardless,” she snatched one of Angela’s curly fries, “the crazy old bat.”

Angela huffed. “You have your own fries, you know.”

She smiled. “Not my own _curly_ fries, I don’t.”

“Well it’s not my fault you didn’t think to order some.”

“Well it’s not _my_ fault you chose to sit right next to me.”

“And to think you two are the oldest,” Elena giggled.

Angela straightened up. “You’re right! I _am_ the oldest, which means you have to do what I say. And I say you have to answer Caroline.”

Elena groaned as the blonde perked up. “Seriously?”

 _“Seriously?”_ Caroline mocked her. “Is it so wrong that as your best friend I want to know if you’ve banged the hottest guy in town yet?”

Tyler’s eyebrows rose. “I take offense to that.”

Bonnie rolled her eyes and grabbed another curly fry. “As your other best friend, I just want to say that you don’t have to talk about anything that makes you uncomfortable.”

“Okay, the fact that you keep taking my fries is making _me_ uncomfortable, you little thief,” Angela pulled the basket closer to herself in mock irritation.

Elena gave an amused smile. “Appreciate that, Bonnie. To answer your question: no, we haven’t slept together. We haven’t even kissed yet. We’ve just been talking.”

Caroline looked flabbergasted. “You’re kidding.” She turned to Angela. “She’s kidding, right?”

She shrugged. “She told me the same thing.”

Caroline spluttered for a moment. “Elena! He’s new, and sexy, and mysterious, and super into you! Capitalize! Do you know how many girls would kill to be in your position?”

Angela nodded towards her. “See, Lena? That’s why _she’s_ Cheer Captain.”

Elena’s eyes widened. “Oh, God, don’t remind her about cheer, too.”

“Well she doesn’t need to, right?” Caroline asked expectantly. “Because you’re definitely showing up.”

Elena just groaned.

“Hey,” Tyler frowned. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea to pressure her, Caroline. It’s been a pretty rough year.”

 _“Not all of it,”_ she wanted to object. _“We went skiing with Mom and Dad in February. Before they were dead. February wasn’t rough.”_ Instead she shrugged and said “It’s her choice. And not one she needs to make right this minute. Isn’t that right, Care?”

She deflated a bit. “Well… but wouldn’t it help things go back to normal? You know, doing things you’ve always done?”

“I appreciate you trying to help, Caroline,” said Elena, “but I’ll come to you when I’m ready.”

She bit her lip. “Right. Sorry…”

Angela couldn’t help but smile to herself. If only Caroline knew the kind of person she’d have been without her help, perhaps she could be as proud of herself as Angela was. That person would have kept pushing, not apologize. She grabbed a curly fry and looked at her sister. “So, anyway… _Stefan._ ”

Elena adopted a dry look. “And here I thought you forgot.”

“You _are_ into him, are you not?”

“I already said that I thought he was attractive.”

“Well, duh,” Caroline rolled her eyes, “you’re not blind, but are you _into_ him? You said that all you’ve done is talk.”

“I’m just… I don’t know. Trying to take things slow, maybe? I don’t know if I’m ready yet.” Elena’s words were reasonable, and had Angela not known the things she knew, she would have believed her. She saw the lie in her sister’s eyes however, and the fear. _It’s not that she isn’t ready to be with somebody so soon after what happened. It’s that she isn’t ready to be with a creature Dad had so adamantly hated._ It wasn’t like she knew how harmless he was in his current state, no matter how much Angela had insisted he was, and maybe a part of her felt like she’d be betraying their father’s memory.

Tyler threw his head back and groaned. “Are we seriously gonna have girl-talk right now? ‘Cause I _do_ have other friends I could go hang out with.”

Caroline smacked his shoulder. “Hey, this is serious! It’s our best friend’s happiness we’re talking about here!”

He raised an eyebrow. “You know, there’s five of us. I think the term _best_ friend lost meaning three friends ago.”

“How about the term ‘sister?’” asked Bonnie. “We’re all basically family.”

There was a pause before Caroline scrunched up her nose. “Ew! Does that mean Ty’s been my brother this whole time?”

As they succumbed to laughter, Angela could almost fool herself into thinking that everything was going to be fine.

Sheila’s talk of cooking had made her want to try a new chicken curry recipe, never mind the fact that she was doing her best to keep her mind off of tonight. She’d just covered the skillet and set a timer for 20 minutes when Elena walked through the archway.

“Mmm, that smells good.”

She went to wash her hands and glanced back. “You hungry?”

Elena leaned against counter next to her. “Yeah, but I can wait. Don’t worry.”

She set about washing the dishes she’d dirtied and snorted. “I’m not worried. The kid that burned his tongue trying to eat straight from the pan is at therapy.”

Her sister chuckled. “Caroline said that his obsession with food makes sense since he’s a Taurus.”

Angela rolled her eyes fondly. “Of course a Libra would be into astrology.”

She shrugged. “Hey, knowing that witches and vampires and reincarnation are a thing, it doesn’t seem that crazy anymore.”

Slightly disappointed in her sister not acknowledging her joke, she hummed. “You can say that again.”

Elena fidgeted a bit. “Speeaking of Caroline… Are you gonna be doing anything this year? I know cheer’s not your thing, but… if I go back to it, it’d be nice to have you around. And you’re not _too_ out of shape.”

She ignored the implication that she was at least somewhat out of shape, but made a mental note to start working out regularly. It would be smart to eventually ask Alaric or – God forbid _–_ John for vampire hunting lessons. “I don’t know, honestly. Guess I could always continue theater, but without Mom being here…” The reason she’d joined in the first place was because Miranda said she’d love to practice all the songs with her.

“You should,” said her sister. “She was right, you know. Caroline. It’ll help bring a sense of normalcy to your life.”

She raised an eyebrow and dried her hands. “Practice what you preach, sis. If you continue cheerleading, I’ll continue theater.”

Elena seemed to be considering her options. She nodded and stuck a hand out. “Deal.”

Angela shook it firmly. “Deal.”

They sat down on the island’s barstools, waiting for the food to finish cooking in comfortable silence. After a while, her sister spoke. “What do you think he talks about? Jeremy.”

The psychiatrist Jenna had taken him to see was one of the best this side of Virginia. Daniel Gills, his name was, and Jenna couldn’t understand why she burst out laughing when she heard it.

She shrugged, chin resting in her palm. “Dunno. It’s not like we can ask him. Jen said to let him come to us.”

Elena’s nails clacked against the smooth wood. “Yeah, I know, but… I just can’t help but be worried about him, you know?”

She petted her back with a gentle smile. “You worry too much about all the wrong things. He’s already come so far. We just need to give him more time.”

Her shoulders sagged. “Right. You’re right. Sorry.”

“You’re just being a good sister, Lena. You don’t have to apologize.”

She stood and gave her a peck on the cheek. “I had you as a role model. If I’m not a good sister, I’m doing it wrong.”

Angela had barely changed her appearance since getting ready in the morning. She’d added a bit more makeup, almost compulsively re-drawing the brown winged eyeliner that had smudged during the day and patting a hint of red onto her lips, but she couldn’t bring herself to do much more.

Ideally, she’d hang out around the town square with the rest of Mystic Falls until Sheila texted to tell her that Anna had arrived. After which she’d have a calm, civilized conversation with the half-a-millennia-year-old teenager and they’d politely agree to open the tomb and retrieve Pearl with minimal casualties. Then again, ideally, her parents would still be alive.

She shook her head. _There’s no room for self-doubt. If I doubt myself I’ll break._ That thought, however, only made things worse. If she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown at the thought of talking to one of the tamest vampires she knew of, she had no idea how she’d ever handle the Originals. She leaned against the bathroom sink and groaned. She had already used the toilet twice, but now her insides were causing her a different type of anxiety-induced distress. She figured she’d just have to live with the ulcer forming in her stomach for the next few hours.

 _We do have some strong red wine downstairs…_ She rolled her eyes at the thought. _No. There are enough alcoholics in this town. I shouldn’t learn to rely on something to get me through tough shit. It’d just make me weaker. I can’t afford to be weaker._

She straightened up, and after giving her reflection a kind, practiced smile, left to join her sister outside the house.

She found her glued to her Motorola Razr. She looked up when she heard her approach, however, and stuck the phone back in her purse. “Jeremy texted me saying they just got there. You ready?”

 _“They”_ being him and Jenna. She had treated him to dinner and ice cream, as was routine whenever they visited Dr. Gills. He’d hated seeing him at first, but then Angela had suggested it might help him learn to like it if he had something yummy to look forward to afterwards. Jenna gave her an excited, double-handed high-five when it worked like a charm.

She smiled her kind, practiced smile, and nodded. “Ready.”

The street they lived on wasn’t busy, but then again it never was. She could see the odd person here and there, most of them heading in the same direction they were, but the closer they got to the town square, the more people that crowded the sidewalks. Eventually, the sound of cars passing by and voices speaking melted together to create a loud, monotonous sort of buzz that could almost be called comforting.

“Oh!” Elena exclaimed and waved her arm at something. “I see them!”

She followed her line of sight and found Jenna by one of the park’s lampposts, cupping her hands around her mouth and shouting something that was just shy of intelligible.

“What!?” Elena yelled out, making Angela flinch and immediately bring a hand up to her ear.

“Hey!” she yelled back in what would have been humor had she felt better. “How about we get closer before you burst my eardrum?”

Her sister nodded, seemingly oblivious to her sour mood, and started speed-walking towards Jenna and Jeremy. Angela’s comparatively short legs struggled to keep up. _A child is taller than me. The shame._

“You guys made it!” Jenna still had to raise her voice in order to be heard over everybody’s chattering, but at least she didn’t make her ears bleed.

“We made it,” Elena smiled and ruffled Jeremy’s hair. “Did you have fun, Jer?”

He nodded, his round, blue eyes just about sparkling. That made Angela relax a tiny bit and she allowed herself a smile. Seeing her baby brother happy, after all that he’d suffered, never failed to lift her spirits.

“What’d you have to eat this time?” she asked, unable to stop her hand from petting his brown hair back into place.

He glanced up, likely trying to remember how to sign it, and then brought his head back down determinately. He confidently signed the word “China.” Angela almost snorted at the coincidence. If she remembered correctly, Anna and Pearl were of Chinese heritage. _Anna and Pearl…_ Her smile was gone in an instant.

“Oh yeah?” she asked, fingers still running through his hair. “Was it good?”

He nodded rapidly, inadvertently knocking her hand off his head.

“Elena! Angie! There you are!” It seemed to be becoming a pattern for Caroline to be the first of their friends to greet them. Tyler trailed close behind and gave a grin when he noticed the only other male member of the MFMs.

“Hey there, big guy!” He made a fist with the hand not occupied with holding candles, and Jeremy bumped it with no small amount of gusto. They even did the whole explosion thing afterwards, which made her smile again. “How’s it hanging?”

He gave two thumbs up and grinned. Caroline gave him a pinch on the cheek, causing him to rub it in mock annoyance. “Hey, Jeremy!” She handed the two candles she was carrying over to the twins. “I grabbed these as soon as I saw you guys. Tyler has-”

“ _I’ve_ got the one for the coolest kid in town,” he handed one to Jeremy. “And Aunt Jenna.”

She grabbed hers with an eye-roll. “Thanks, Lockwood.”

Elena chuckled. “You forgot to get ones for yourselves.”

“Well, I don’t know about you,” Caroline adopted a haughty look, “but _I_ was raised with manners. And manners say that I serve myself last.”

Angela reached up and gave her a peck on the cheek. “Do ignore my sister, well-mannered lady. We believe she might have been raised by wolves.”

Caroline’s face briefly twitched in a way that betrayed her mirth before she schooled it again and doubled down on her haughtiness, going so far as to raise her head up slightly. “Why yes, I do believe you’re correct. Shame that such beauty is wasted on a great, lumbering beast.”

Try as she might, she couldn’t stop the loud, surprised laugh from escaping her lips.

Elena’s mouth dropped open in indignation and she smacked a giggling Caroline’s arm. “ _Lumbering beast?_ I’ll show you lumbering beast! You have three seconds to start running. One…”

Caroline took off with a squeak. Elena followed suit, shoving her candle into Jenna’s arms and not even bothering to count all the way.

Jenna sighed wistfully. “Ah, to be young and student debt-free.”

“Oh, come on, Aunt Jenna. You’re still young.” Tyler wiggled his eyebrows. “And _beautiful.”_

Jeremy made gagging noises before a very unimpressed Jenna spoke. “Kid, you don’t get to call me ‘aunt’ and hit on me in the same breath.”

Angela could hear them going back and forth as she checked her phone for any activity from Sheila. She found none, so she started pushing Tyler forward. “Give it up, bud. She was way more into your uncle, anyway.”

She heard rather than saw Jenna gasp and say “Jeremy, I swear, I don’t know what she’s talking about.”

They stopped in front of the candle suppliers. “Is Bonnie here?”

He gave a nod of thanks at being given a plain, white candle. “Haven’t seen her yet.” They moved away to a quieter spot and he sounded nervous as he spoke. “Hey, was it just me, or did she seem kinda weird? After school.”

It wasn’t just him. Nor was it meant to be. She’d seemed fine enough, but her movements were just a bit too forward; her words louder than usual. Angela wasn’t sure she’d have noticed had they not spent so much time together, and she was surprised at how good an actress she was.

She shrugged nonchalantly. “Didn’t she say that the comet was a bad sign? Maybe she was just worried.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

Somebody slammed into her back, making her move her legs apart to steady herself.

“Ha!” Elena’s hands grasped her shoulders. “Safe! Touching Angie means I’m safe!”

She turned her head to see her sister being followed by an exasperated-looking Caroline. Hair that was earlier styled prettily was now unruly and wind-swept.

Caroline rolled her eyes. “That was never a rule! What are you talking about?”

She could feel her sister’s sweat sticking to her skin as she adjusted her hands to grip her better. “It’s a rule now.”

“You’re just saying that because you knew you were gonna lose!”

Elena let go and moved to where she could see her. “I have no idea what you mean.”

Angela snorted. Elena had a bit of a reputation as a cheater when it came to any games they’d play. When they were thirteen, she’d almost managed to convince everyone that she – and only she – had the right to make a second prediction every turn in Clue. Angela had called her out on that bullshit hard. She loved her twin, adored her even, but she sometimes wanted to strangle her and her competitive little ass. A sentiment she often shared with Caroline.

“Ugh,” she flicked some blonde hair out of her face, “whatever. I didn’t want to get all sweaty anyway.”

Angela’s cell phone pinged.

All eyes fell on her.

Swallowing nervously, she brought it out of her purse.

_Sheila: They’re here._

Her throat dried up. _Here we go…_ “I, um, I don’t feel so good.”

Caroline moved close and muttered as low as she could. “Are you sure-”

“Yeah,” she cut her off. “I don’t know, I feel a bit dizzy.”

The plan, quite simply, was to act like she was deceiving them into thinking she felt unwell and had to go home. In reality – rather, in the reality she wanted Damon to believe – she’d decided to ditch them and go see Bonnie at Sheila’s house. She figured that he might be tailing her, and she didn’t want him to suspect anything was off.

If she wasn’t pretending to deceive them and flat out said that she was going to see Bonnie, the most logical conclusion would be for at least one of them to insist they tag along. Why did she not want them to tag along, then? Because Bonnie needed moral support for something related to witchcraft, of course, and Angela was the only one that knew she was a witch. It’d be quite out of character of her to drag her out of the broom closet like that. In truth, nobody would be joining her because taking them to speak to Anna would make them a liability, no matter how much Caroline had tried to convince her otherwise.

“Do you need some air or something?” Tyler asked, voice a bit too loud to be inconspicuous.

Elena shot him a look. “Yeah,” she said, much more convincingly. “I can go get you some water.”

“No, I… maybe it’d be best if I went home. I think I need to lie down.”

Her sister furrowed her eyebrows. “Do you want me to come with you?”

“No. No, I’m okay. I don’t feel like I’m about to pass out or anything. I promise I’ll call you as soon as I get there.”

Caroline rubbed her back a bit too forcefully. “Don’t forget, okay? And tell me if you want me to bring over some chicken noodle soup.”

She smiled weakly and gave her her candle. “Of course. Tell J and J what happened. You guys enjoy yourselves, alright?”

Tyler nodded firmly. “You too.”

She was surprised at how well she was walking, considering her legs felt like jelly. After a while, she passed the wrap-around porch that marked their house and dug her phone out. She dialed her sister’s number to say that she made it to their bedroom.

 _“I love you,”_ she responded, and Angela almost wished she hadn’t. It made the possibility of her never seeing her again feel all the more real. She said _“I love you”_ back all the same.

The cicadas’ song that rung out in the still September air helped ground her as she knocked on Sheila’s door.

After a moment, Bonnie swung it open and gave a tight smile. “Hey,” she moved out of the way, “I assume this means you got my text?”

“Yeah,” Angela walked inside and heard the door closing behind her. “What was it you were trying to do exactly?”

Bonnie brought up a piece of paper to show her a note she’d written out. _Follow my lead and then take the candle I point to - as long as you hold it no one will be able to hear you or any objects affected by you._ “A divination spell,” she said, “like you suggested. Not to see what’ll happen in Supernatural. Just to see what’ll happen tomorrow at school.”

She nodded to indicate she’d finished reading the note. “And?”

“And,” Bonnie quietly set it down, “nothing. Nothing happened. How original. God, I feel so useless.”

She frowned. She knew there was some truth mixed in there. “Hey, don’t say that. You shouldn’t try to force it. It might have the opposite effect.”

“Yeah… My brain knows you’re right, but it’s hard for my heart to, too.”

Angela reached forward to bring her into a hug. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

She felt her sigh. “A sleepover might be nice?”

“I told the guys I was feeling dizzy and went home.”

Bonnie pulled back. “I can tell them you were lonely and decided to pay me a visit. Now,” she gave her a meaningful look, “do you want to watch a movie?” _Oops. Guess I don’t have a choice._

She paused for a moment before shrugging. “Sounds good to me.”

Bonnie smiled in relief and led her to her room. “Might as well get comfy on the bed. Any suggestions on what to watch?”

“Not really.” She sat down. “You choose.”

“We… could re-watch High School Musical?”

Her eyes widened in genuine excitement. “Oh, man! Ugh, it’s been so long. Shame Caroline isn’t here, too.” _And shame I won’t actually get to watch it._

Bonnie snorted and joined her, sliding the laptop to rest between them. Angela knew she didn’t have to bother with grabbing the DVD. The girls had been so obsessed with the movies when they first came out that they’d all ripped a copy onto their computers. Or rather, Bill Forbes had, seeing as he actually knew how.

“It’s only a shame for you and Caroline,” she said. “If I have to sit through another live performance of Bop to the Top, I might just rip my hair out.”

Angela snickered. “I make a hot Ryan and you know it.”

Bonnie shook her head with a smile and double-clicked on the file. “Whatever you say, Ann.”

As the title screen faded into view, Bonnie gently nudged her and pointed to the stout, blue candle on her vanity. Angela carefully got up, the sound of the duvet shuffling easily being able to be interpreted as her getting comfortable. She walked over as quietly as she could and picked it up.

 _Funny. The others are all holding candles for a fun bonding experience and I’m doing it to save my life. Or potentially save my life, assuming he’s even following me._ She couldn’t take that chance, however. It was better to be covered on as many fronts as possible.

She saw there was a snuffer covering the wick and went to remove it when Bonnie moved her hands in a frantic _“stop”_ motion. She took her phone out of her pocket and after a bit of clicking – during which she said “I should probably tell them you’re staying over” – she showed her the message she’d constructed: _remove it+the spell breaks. fire is bright 2. he has eyes._

Angela nodded to show she understood. She took a long, steadying breath. There was absolutely no guarantee that, even after the lengths they’d gone to, this would work. Hopefully, if Damon _was_ following her, he’d believe that she was still in Sheila’s house when she was actually speaking with Anna. That was the reason she couldn’t have genuinely gone home: there was no way she could think of to sneak out. The back door led to a fenced garden with no gate, all the windows she could climb out of were visible from the front, and the time it’d take for Sheila to cast the spell on the candle, leave to stake out the motel, and for Angela to arrive home and grab it would potentially be too long. Candles are still made of wax after all, and wax melts. By leaving it with another Bennett, however, the spell could be activated right as Angela arrived to the house by way of DNA; saliva in this case, as far as she knew. Not to mention that Sheila’s house was closer to the motel in the first place.

Angela opened her eyes, and after swallowing to try and calm the storm in her mind, gently waved goodbye. Bonnie’s eyes softened and she smiled reassuringly. _“I believe in you,”_ she seemed to say. Her chest warmed. Children as she might sometimes see them, she was incredibly lucky to have such good friends.

She walked out the room and into the kitchen, where she saw the back door. Bonnie’s note had said that any objects affected by her would also be silent, but she still couldn’t bring herself to open it normally. She slowly, quietly twisted the doorknob and stepped into the night air, eyes immediately scanning it for any sign of Damon. She hesitantly started walking when she saw nothing.

There was a cluster of trees behind Sheila’s house that led to the other side of the block and she moved through it as sneakily as she could. They’d tested it last night, the Bennetts, and found that someone could go through it without being spotted from most angles. From there, she only needed to cross the open street, trespass on some houses, cross the street again, and she’d arrive at the motel.

She was lucky she didn’t encounter anybody. Constantly glancing around as she was must have made her look quite suspicious, especially when she slipped in between private property. At one point, she saw light streaming out though a ground-floor window and noticed a kid from her school playing Minecraft in his underwear. She’d nearly had a heart attack until she realized he hadn’t seen her, after which she’d nearly blown her cover by laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

She could see the motel’s neon blue sign. All things considered, it was a handsome-looking place. No Four Seasons, but certainly not sleazy either. She noticed Sheila’s car and approached. Checking briefly that, yes, she was inside, she opened the passenger’s seat door and sat down. The smell of sage was almost overwhelming.

“Do you sense him?” she asked as soon as Sheila took the candle.

She shook her head, extinguishing the spell. “Just the two in there.”

She felt a weight lift off her shoulders and allowed herself a deep sigh. “That was a bad plan.”

She could see the edge of Sheila’s lips quirk upwards. “Full of holes. But you worked with what you had. Are you ready to go in?”

“Before we do… If something happens to me tonight and only you are able to escape, I want you to tell Elena something.”

She made an inquisitive noise.

“First, tell her that I love her and all, but… tell her to check the baby stuff.” She had hidden clues around the house that only Elena would be able to follow; a treasure hunt that began with a picture book they’d loved as toddlers and ended with the bottle in the yard.

_“The baby stuff?”_

She nodded. “It’s important, I promise.”

Sheila sighed. Angela could hear the beige, leather driver’s seat creak as she turned to pull her into a hug. “I won’t let anything happen to you,” she spoke against her head. “You drive me insane, you worry me sick, but I care about you too much to let anything happen to you. So don’t be stupid and die, alright?”

She nodded into her shoulder. “I won’t.” _Wouldn’t those be some funny last words?_

Sheila pulled back and gave her a stern nod. “Good. Now let’s go.”

They climbed up the stairs to reach the second floor and stopped in front of a plain, white door labeled “14.” After a shared glance, Angela raised a hand and knocked twice.

They waited for approximately ten seconds before the door opened a crack to reveal a young man’s face. A familiar young man.

_Ben… it’s Ben._

Ben McKittrick was older than her by two years and had been a star football player at their school. She’d been hoping that Anna would be the one to greet them, truth be told, as, though she hadn’t remembered exactly who he was, she remembered him having considerably fewer brains than her. Meaning that he was more likely to immediately try and eat them.

He swung the door open a bit more and gave a charming smile. His eyes were dark. “Can I help you?” _He doesn’t even remember me._

She smiled back, much tighter than he did. She felt safer knowing that Sheila could stop him if he tried something, but her heart was still pounding against her ribcage. _I wonder if he can hear. I wonder if all he can think about is draining me._ “Not really. I believe that Anna and I can help each other, though.”

He tensed for a second before his face twisted. She could see his eyes turning red, the veins beneath them becoming prominent. He made to lunge at her before he was flung back into the room. The door opened completely from the force, and she could see a young woman standing behind it. _Anna._ She could practically hear the wheels spinning in her mind.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Sheila hissed, eyes intense. They rested on Anna. “We didn’t come as enemies. We came as allies, much to my protest, but if that baby vampire can’t keep his fangs in his mouth, I’ll do it for him.”

Anna’s posture was tense; alert. Her dark brown eyes shifted to and fro between them until she blinked and addressed Ben. “Do as she says.”

He pushed himself off the ground and looked back at her in disbelief. “What, are you serious?”

She swiveled her head to glare at him. After a moment, he huffed and crossed his arms. “Fine.”

Sheila closed the door. Angela nodded and tried to smile at them, but she was sure she looked frightened. “Thank y-”

“Start talking,” Anna snapped.

Now that she could see her properly, she had to admit that she was quite pretty. With long, black hair that fell in choppy waves, a smooth, oval-shaped face, almond-shaped eyes, a button nose, and plump, pink lips, she was sure she would have described her as cute if she didn’t know how easily she could snap her neck.

“My name is Angela Gilbert,” she said, “and this is Sheila Bennett. We want to help you get your mother out of the tomb.”

Anna shifted minutely. “What do you know about my mother?”

“I know that her name is Pearl. I know that she was turned in by my ancestor, Johnathan Gilbert, a man who let his bigotry win out over the affection he had for her. I know that she’s not a bad person, and I know that you’re not a bad person, either.” She nodded towards Sheila. “If you were, you’d be dead by now.”

“And you know this how?”

She hesitated. Last time she tried to tell someone about her situation, he threatened to kill her. How would she explain how she knew in a way that would make Anna believe her? And why, _why_ hadn’t she already thought of this?

“Have you ever heard of the term _parasite?”_ It was Sheila who spoke. Angela furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. _Parasite?_ _Like plants?_ Recognition shone in Anna’s hard eyes, however, and they relaxed in surprise before looking at her.

“How old are you?”

Angela blinked at the question. “Uh, seventeen. Why?”

Anna let out a breath of disbelief. “You’re Elena Gilbert’s twin. That’s impossible.”

Her eyebrows furrowed even more. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s impossible for a doppelgänger to be a twin,” she said. “No one knows the exact magic behind them, but doppelgängers come alone. They’re a unique magical event. I heard Emily Bennett talking about it.”

“People have studied them,” Sheila cut in. “Doppelgängers. Only a few people, and most of it is theory, but you’d be hard-pressed to meet a witch who hasn’t read up on the topic at least a little bit. And a witch as powerful as Emily? There was little she hadn’t read up on.

“There existed a warlock a few centuries ago named Ahmad Fahim. He was mentally unstable; a complete paranoiac. But, he came up with the theory that if a doppelgänger was born a twin, the other twin would actually be a devil that would bring about the end of the world. Most of his ramblings are nonsensical, the product of too much time spent in isolation, and I found the question he posed completely useless… until you were born. _What if a doppelgänger that comes into this world is plagued by a parasite?”_

Angela wasn’t given any time to process this information before Sheila addressed Anna. “What other interesting things did Emily say?”

“I… she told my mother about the very first vampires. Mainly that they were ruthless and cruel. She told her about what happens after a supernatural creature dies. About the other side. She said that it’s dark and lonely.”

“Did she say anything else about the afterlife?” Angela wanted to shake her as they kept talking like nothing was wrong. “ _I’m a parasite,”_ she wanted to cry out. _“A creature that was never meant to be. I knew I was a curse, didn’t I? Who says I’m not a devil, as well?”_

“She said that it’s possible to find peace or fall into oblivion.” Anna paused for a moment. “They had a conversation about reincarnation once. Mother was raised a Buddhist. She didn’t really believe in anything by the time they met, but she asked if there had been any truth to it after all. Emily said that there was, but that people rarely got reborn and no one knew how it really worked.”

Sheila’s eyes narrowed. “That’s all she said?”

“You’re saying there’s more?”

She hummed. “Nothing that would be relevant to what your mother wanted to know, but… yes.” She rested a hand on Angela’s shoulder. She barely felt it. “She’s a very special girl, this one. Rather, a very special _woman.”_

She couldn’t hold her tongue. “A very special _parasite.”_

“Yes,” said Sheila, and she felt as though she’d slapped her. “Not only is she a parasite, but she was reborn into a universe different than the one she lived her previous life in. She’s even more special than her sister, I’d say.”

She heard a snort from across the room and saw Ben leaning against the wall. She’d forgotten he was even there. “Doppelgänger? Parasite? Alternate universe? They can’t seriously expect you to believe this horseshit, right?”

Anna remained silent for a moment, staring straight ahead with unseeing eyes. Finally, she focused her gaze to meet Angela’s. “You may be a parasite,” the term wasn’t used maliciously, but it still stung, “and you may be from an alternate universe. It sounds completely insane, but Emily…” She sighed and shook her head. “Still, none of that explains how you know about me and my mother.”

“Well, if _that_ sounded crazy,” she sighed, “get ready for _this_ horseshit…”

“So… you’re telling me,” Anna spoke slowly, “that you were born in a world where the events surrounding this town were a fictional story?”

“Basically.”

“Babe,” Ben scoffed. “They’re obviously lying, there’s no way in hell-”

“Ben,” Anna snapped, never taking her eyes off of her. She looked close to murderous. “Shut. Up.”

His teeth made a sharp _click_ sound as he shut his mouth, and Angela could easily imagine steam exiting his ears. Anna’s face turned calmer as she addressed her.

“The founding family patriarchs kept journals. You’re a Gilbert. How do I know you didn’t just _read_ about my mother?”

“How would I know she was in the tomb? How would I know you’d arrive tonight to begin your quest in releasing her?” Anna didn’t seem completely convinced, but she’d been open to hearing her out so far. Angela’s anxiety still hadn’t completely vanished, but it’d diminished somewhat. Things were going better than expected. She sighed. “What do you have to lose by accepting my help?”

Anna gave a small, sarcastic smile. “I’ve learned you can lose quite a lot by doing just about anything.”

“You can lose a lot by doing nothing, as well.”

“Is that a threat?”

“It’s a fact. You and your mother will likely lose your lives if you choose to do things without my help. That’s my end goal in all this: to prevent as many pointless deaths as I can. That and to protect the people I care about.”

Anna tilted her head. “And if those two interests ever conflict? If somebody needs to die for no good reason other than to save the people you love some grief?”

She was silent for a moment. “No death is pointless if it results in helping the people I love. I’m sure you can understand my viewpoint, having turned this one for that sole purpose.” She heard Ben growl at her for not referring to him by his name.

Anna smiled. It wasn’t a sarcastic smile, and though it was still small, it looked sincere. “If your story is true… why are you trusting me with it? You don’t know me personally. You don’t know whether I’ll sell you out to someone that could rip you from your life and use you for their own gain. You don’t know whether _I’d_ use you for my own gain.”

“Maybe… maybe it’s because you need to give trust in order to get it in return. Or,” she grimaced, “maybe it’s because I need you to help me as well. With something relatively small, but still very important.”

Anna raised her eyebrows as if to say “go on.”

“Do you remember the Salvatore brothers?”

She rolled her eyes. “Who doesn’t?”

“Well,” she winced, “I may have told Damon that you wanted me to help free Katherine from the tomb…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I looked up actual witchcraft stuff (and the spells and rituals page of the tvd wiki, hallelujah, you guys are doing god’s work) to piece together my own pseudo-spell for the whole candle thing, and I have to say: witchcraft sounds hella interesting, my dude. Not necessarily my kind of thing to practice, but researching it was really fun.


	5. Kill Will

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’d initially wanted to combine this chapter and the next (which I haven’t written yet) into one big chapter, since big chapters are kind of a thing in this story, but then I realized this would probably stand better as is. Hope you enjoy it!

**CHAPTER 4**

_**KILL WILL** _

Angela leaned against the hood of the car. “Well,” she sighed, “that could’ve gone worse.”

“A lot worse,” Sheila said as she unlocked the driver’s seat door. She reached in and grabbed the candle.

Angela watched her bring it up to her mouth – her moving mouth – but couldn’t hear what she was saying. Not that it made much difference anyway.

Anna had agreed to meet them in front of the tomb at eight o’clock tomorrow night, around thirty minutes past sunset. Damon wouldn’t know that she was coming, and Angela would do her best to pretend she didn’t know either. All she knew about Anna, all she knew about _A_ , was that she wanted her to help free Katherine.

She saw the faint orange glow of a flame light up, and Sheila covered it with the snuffer. How that didn’t put it out she had no idea, though she supposed it was called magic for a reason.

“Here,” Sheila handed it to her, “don’t get caught. It’d be a shame to after everything.”

She nodded and tried to say “I won’t,” but no noise came out of her mouth.

Sheila chuckled at her look of wonder. “Good.” She entered the car. “I’ll be back by tomorrow night. Stay safe.”

She simply nodded again and watched her drive away.

Apart from constantly glancing around her, Angela’s walk back to Sheila’s house was relatively calm. She saw a few people at one point, a group of friends it looked like, but it had been easy to stay out of their line of sight. And then, just as she was about to cross the street to enter the cluster of trees, she heard a car pull up to her.

Her heart dropped. _Is it a Camaro? Is it a blue Camaro?_ How could she ever forget that car? Lucky for her and her heart, though she couldn’t make out its exact color, it looked far more modern than she knew Damon’s car to be.

“Gilbert.” Oh and how could she ever forget that voice: the voice that was ever-so-present in her exam-induced nightmares?

_Tanner?_

Through the rolled-down window she could make out his frowning face. “Why are you walking by yourself so late at night?”

She blinked in bewilderment. _“Why is that any of your business?”_ was the first reply that came to mind. Then, she remembered he wouldn’t be able to hear her no matter _what_ she said. _Then,_ she started panicking. _Oh, God. Oh, shit. I can’t just ignore him, that’ll make me look super suspicious. Not to mention how embarrassing it’ll be. I won’t be able to sleep for weeks._ She glanced up, straight ahead of her. _The house is right there. I can make it, can’t I? I did what I had to, anyway. Yes,_ she decided, _I can make it._ And with a sigh, she let the candle slip from her fingers.

“Oh!” she gasped as the glass shattered. “Sorry. You caught me off-guard.” She bent down to pick up the pieces, but his sharp voice interrupted her.

“Hey, don’t do that! You’ll cut yourself.”

She winced in embarrassment she didn’t much have to fake and stood back up. “Sorry…”

He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Look, I’m not trying to give you a lecture, but it’s not safe to be out so late by yourself.”

“W-well, I’m almost home, so…”

She couldn’t see too much of his face, but from what little she could make out, he seemed genuinely concerned – lips in a tight line and eyebrows furrowed. “Are you sure you don’t want me to give you a lift?”

Genuine concern or no, that question made alarm bells go off in her head. She laughed nervously. “Ah. No, thank you. I’m alright.”

She saw his eyes widen briefly, as if realizing how his words might’ve been interpreted. He cleared his throat. “Right. Well… stay safe, Gilbert.”

She gave a tight smile. “You too, Mr. Tanner.”

She waited until his car was all the way out of sight before speed-walking across the street. _Come on, come on, come on, it’s only a few dozen feet, come on. _She all but slammed through the back door and shut it as quickly as she could. _Fuck. If he’s here, he definitely heard that. Fuck, fuck, fuck._

When she looked up, she was greeted by the wide, brown eyes of her sister. She could see Bonnie, Caroline, and Tyler, all panicked-looking, in the living room.

In a split-second, Elena was next to her. “Oh, man,” she said with a slightly manic giggle. “Well, I didn’t see a raccoon out there, but I _did_ manage to scare myself with my own shadow.” She grabbed her arm and mouthed “match my footsteps.”

Caroline’s laugh was more a squeak. “Of course you did.”

“Anyway, I’m gonna go see if I woke Angie up with that.”

“Yeah,” Tyler’s frantic eyes shifted to the blinder-covered window, “good idea.”

Slowly enough for Angela to be able to time her footsteps well, yet not so slowly it would draw undue attention, they finally made it to Bonnie’s room. Her sister nodded towards the bed and mouthed “sit down.” She hesitantly did as she was told.

“Sorry, twinny,” Elena said and sat down herself. “Didn’t mean to wake you up.” The look she shot her very clearly said “play along.”

Angela made her voice sound groggy. “What _was_ that?”

“Thought we heard a raccoon or something skittering around outside.” _Quick thinking._ “I didn’t see anything, though.”

 _You wouldn’t happen to have seen a vampire skittering around, would you? Do vampires skitter? _She suppressed a laugh at the thought of Damon frantically running around on all fours. _Wow, I’m tired. And… hysterical? Do I qualify as hysterical yet?_ She hummed in acknowledgment but then frowned. “Wait. What are you doing here?”

Elena ran a hand through her sleek, brown hair. “Bonnie sent a text. Said you got lonely and decided to pay her a visit. Which,” she pretended to look at her sternly, but the upward curve of her lips betrayed her, “I don’t approve of, by the way. You weren’t feeling good. You should’ve stayed in bed.”

She patted the pastel purple duvet with an amused raise of the brow. “I thought I did.”

Her sister rolled her eyes and pulled her into a tight hug. After a moment she spoke softly; hesitantly. “Are you… feeling better?”

_“Did everything go as planned?” you mean._

She hugged her back and nodded into her shoulder. “Almost completely,” she muttered back.

“That’s good.”

“Yeah. It is.” _Much better than I’d hoped for, anyway._ She wondered if that meant that the next thing she tried would backfire horrifically, but tried to force the thought to the very back of her mind. She needed to calm down. _You’re surrounded by family. You’re holding it in your arms. You’re safe right now. You’re safe. You’re safe… right now. What about tomorrow? Will you die tomorrow? _She pulled back with a smile, forced and uncomfortable-feeling. “So… since everyone’s here, should we just have a giant sleepover?”

Elena’s smile was tender and bright. “Absolutely.”

It felt like summer.

The sun was hot on her skin and had begun to border on unbearable. _I should’ve worn sunscreen. Did I wear sunscreen?_ She felt her shoulder and found it to be wet, but couldn’t be sure if it was only because of her sweat. _Am I sweating? I don’t look like I’m sweating._

All she could focus on was the 7-Eleven in front of her. She walked and walked until she entered it, but there was no jingle from her pushing the door open. _Is there a jingle? Do you push or pull? It’s bigger in here than I thought it’d be._ She could see aisles upon aisles of products, lit brightly by the windows lining the walls, and when she couldn’t find anything saying where the sunscreen was, decided to pick a direction and walk.

First she walked to the right, and when she couldn’t walk to the right any more, turned around and went left. _Should I be entering the aisles? No, what would be the point in that? God, my skin hurts._ She brought a hand up to her shoulder again and winced in pain. When she glanced down at it, she saw the blisters on her palm. They were giant, and red, and angry-looking.

She looked further down her arm. The outside of it almost looked to be peeling off, but not in the white film type of way it did that one time she’d stayed out in the sun a bit too long. The entire outside of her right arm was red – deep-fried – and had started to slide clean off the bone. Trying to move it back into place only made it come looser, and by the time it flopped off her body and fell onto the floor with a big, wet _shluck_ , the skin around her hand had come loose as well.

_How annoying._

She turned around to look outside, the sun shining bright in her eyes. She held a hand up to her forehead, though without the flesh it didn’t make for much of a shield. _It’s alright,_ she thought as her forehead slid between her finger bones. _It’s bright, but it doesn’t hurt._

Her skin didn’t hurt as much either, come to think of it. And neither did the flame crawling up her foot, nor the sight of the dead cashier by the door. And the taste of blood in her mouth? That was, for lack of a better word, divine.

“Angela.” The cashier. _How does she know my name?_ The flame had reached her knee, but if she didn’t have eyes to see she wouldn’t have been able to tell. “Angela.” Her lips weren’t moving and her cold, dead eyes stared through her. “Angela.” Her lips moved then, and curled into a grin that split half her face apart. The flame was tickling her chest. _How do you know my name?_ “Angela,” she said, and the bones in her arms cracked and grew longer until her hands could caress her face.

When she blinked the world turned dark. No. Not dark. Just dark _er._ She followed the cashier’s hands – her _warm_ hands – up and up until she saw Elena’s young face. “Hey,” she whispered. “Get up. Join me on my morning jog.”

Her shoulder was wet. She turned her head to the left and saw Caroline laying next to her, her mouth open slightly and drooling on her.

“Okay.”

She was cold.

“Did you sleep well?” Elena asked when they were a block away.

“I slept great.”

“That’s good. After last night, you deserve some peaceful rest.”

She glanced at her. _She couldn’t possibly be talking about Anna, could she? In public?_

“You don’t still feel dizzy, do you?”

 _Oh._ “No, I feel fine. Just tired. Speaking of… How come we’re jogging today?”

“Because,” Elena grunted as they turned right, “I felt like it. If I’m gonna continue cheerleading, I should stay in shape.”

“Well, that’s all well and good, but… ah,” she panted, “maybe I should rephrase. How come _I’m_ jogging today?”

“Why?” her sister looked at her teasingly. “Feelin’ the burn?”

“No,” she snapped through her panting. “Not at all. I’m doing fine. Just peachy.”

Elena laughed and slowed to a stop in front of a bench. “To be honest,” she breathed and sat down, “I wanted to talk to you about something. Alone.”

She rested her hands on her thighs as she caught her breath. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” She took a sip of water. “I want your advice.”

Angela joined her on the bench. “My advice? That’s new.”

Elena rolled her eyes. “Oh, you know that’s not true, I come to you all the time.”

She chuckled. “What’s so important you had to drag me out of bed – er – _floor_ at the ass-crack of dawn?”

Her sister adjusted her ponytail with a huff. “Now that I think about it, it’s actually kinda silly.”

“It might be. But I’ll convince myself it’s not so I don’t strangle you for waking me up.” It wasn’t like having a few more minutes of nightmare was going to change anything for the worse. Not _really._

She chuckled. “Very reassuring, thank you. It’s… actually about Stefan.”

Angela moved her hand in a “go on” motion.

“I… um…” She was silent until she sighed. “I’m gonna be honest? I have no idea what I’m doing. I mean, a part of me – a huge part of me – is _super_ attracted to him. Like… _wow._ But, another part of me is screaming that if I go for it, things will end terribly. People will get hurt. I’d be… I’d be disappointing Mom and Dad.” _Aaand there it is._ Say what you want about Angela Gilbert, she could read her sister like a five-word-long book. “And I don’t know what to do.”

“Well… I suppose it just boils down to what every choice boils down to: what would you regret doing more? Would you regret going for it, giving into what your heart wants, and seeing what happens more? Or would you regret pushing that part of your heart down so deep in your chest you won’t be able to look at him more? Potentially finding your soulmate or potentially disappointing two corpses?”

Elena glared at her sincerely since what felt like a lifetime ago. “They’re not just two corpses and you know it.”

“No, they’re our parents, too. And I love them just like you do. But they’re not here anymore, Lena. And I know that if they could see you right now they’d tell you to start living for yourself. Not for a pair of-”

“It’s not the same!” she stood. “It’s not the same for you and me. They’re the only parents _I_ had.”

For a moment she couldn’t breathe. She stared up at her in shock before swallowing to try and force the lump in her throat away. “They’re the only parents I remember.”

Elena’s expression melted into one of remorse. “I… Angie, I’m sor-”

She shook her head and pushed herself off the bench. “Let’s just head back. Okay? The sooner we get today over with the sooner I can fall asleep.” _And escape having to think for a while._

She’d spoken little with her sister since the morning. It wasn’t that she was too proud to accept her apology; pride has never been an issue of hers. It was that she was simply too _tired_ to. She was too tired to do much of anything, yet she did it because she had to. But this? She could hold off on doing it for a bit, even if she knew it was selfish of her.

She’d gotten most of her homework done during her free period, and now only her geometry assignment was left. Thankfully, she had detention.

She grabbed her things from her locker as she heard Mr. Tanner yelling at a pair of jocks to get a move on. Apparently, he’d decided they would practice today even though it was a few school days too early. It was odd, she thought, how much her opinion of him had changed in only a few short hours.

When he’d seen her entering History class he’d nodded at her with what could almost be called a smile and said _“Good to see you got home safe.”_ She was bewildered to say the least, and so she made a note to confront him about his behavior.

 _“Why are you being nice to me?”_ She’d made sure to be the last to leave so she could talk to him in private.

He’d looked at her, unimpressed, and said _“I have a girl a few years younger than you. Just because I punish you and your classmates accordingly doesn’t mean I want to see you harmed.”_

Much as the man angered her, when she found out he had a young daughter she felt immensely guilty at having said that he enjoyed the company of little girls. Pride has never been an issue of hers, and so she’d apologized for it.

 _“Get to your next class,”_ he’d said in response, but she took it as acceptance anyway. That was when she decided she would try and protect him. She would find another way to get him to leave the school so that Alaric could come. A peaceful way. For his daughter if nothing else.

And now, as she sat in detention with her books open, all she could think about was if tonight would be resolved peacefully, as well.

 _They don’t have any reason to kill each other. They both basically want the same thing._ Then again, Damon as he was now didn’t really need a reason to be a dick. That was his default setting, if anything. She shook her head. She couldn’t wait until he started acting better – for his own sake as well as hers. He would still be impulsive and frustrating at times, but it would help him live longer. She cared about him in theory, just like she cared about the Original siblings, but if he remained a threat to her and the people she loved, she couldn’t make any promises to protect him. She was born a Gilbert, for better or for worse, and so she would act like one.

She took a deep breath and started on her assignment.

“Hey…” her sister hesitantly approached her after detention. “Bonnie had to go home to her dad, but Caroline and I are watching Ty and Matt play football if you wanna join.”

She mulled it over for a moment. It wasn’t like she had anything better to do. She’d already hidden the moonstone yesterday, before visiting Anna, and now she just had to wait until Damon undoubtedly approached her for the talisman. She shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

Elena smiled in relief and nodded. “Great. We got snacks. You still like jelly beans, right?”

She decided to put her further out of her misery, and so she nudged her playfully. “What kind of lunatic doesn’t like jelly beans?”

She pouted. “I don’t like jelly beans.”

Really, she and Stefan were perfect for each other with how oblivious they were to joke customs.

“God, he’s hot.” Caroline was staring, cross-armed and frustrated, as Tyler scored a touchdown.

Angela brought a jelly bean up to her mouth. “You’re right, you’re _so_ over him.”

She swerved her blue – literally and metaphorically – eyes towards her and huffed. “Oh, shut up! Not _my_ fault you never got broken up with…”

She hummed affirmatively. “I was always the one doing the breaking up with.”

Caroline threw a piece of popcorn at her as Elena chuckled. The sound seemed to spark an idea in her, as her upset eyes turned devious. “You know who _else_ is hot? _Stefan_. Right, Elena?”

Angela rolled her eyes. She was just about _this close_ to getting sick of hearing about Stefan.

It seemed Elena was, too. “Yes, Caroline,” she deadpanned. “Very hot.”

“Ugh, I just want to live vicariously through you. Is that so bad?”

Elena smiled softly and looked down at her can of Coke. “No, it’s not bad…” She squared her shoulders and looked at them determinately. “You know what? I’m going to ask him out tomorrow. On a proper date.”

She ignored the way her stomach ached and smiled at her sister. “Good. I’m gl-”

Caroline squealed so loud a few members of the team turned to look at her. Her smile was blinding. “Finally! God! It only took you, what, forever?”

Elena rolled her eyes fondly. “Yeah, yeah. Here, eat some jelly beans in celebration.”

Angela threw her hands up. “Okay, seriously, what is with everybody stealing my food lately?”

Caroline giggled quietly as she received the handful of beans. “I don’t know, but I’m not complaining.” She looked at Elena. “Just promise you’ll make me a bridesmaid.”

“Wow, this really made your day, didn’t it?” her sister raised an amused brow.

Caroline rolled her eyes, though it seemed she couldn’t wipe the grin off her face. “Shhh.”

They watched the team play in silence before Elena spoke. “You know… I’m actually kind of glad Bonnie isn’t here right now. There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to the two of you about.”

She and Caroline shared a confused glance, but it was Caroline who spoke. “What can you not say in front of our surrogate sister?”

Elena flashed a smile. “Well, it’s about your favorite subject. Ever since yesterday afternoon, she’s been acting kind of… off. About him. Like, telling me to wait and not rush into anything, which wouldn’t be _too_ weird, since she generally _is_ a careful person, but… wasn’t she saying that going out with him will help things go back to normal? And her body language screams _don’t ever date him. _You know?”

“Hmm,” Caroline furrowed her brows. “That _is_ kinda weird.”

She had to admit, it was a tiny bit frustrating that the only thing Bonnie knew about vampires was that they were monsters. It would make things so much easier if she knew they weren’t all like that. “Maybe you should take this up with her, Lena.”

“I have, but she keeps dodging the subject.”

She shrugged. “Well, I don’t know what to tell you. Give it some time, maybe?”

“But, if this is upsetting her,” Caroline motioned towards Elena, “shouldn’t Bonnie answer when asked?”

Angela raised a brow. “Sometimes we hide things from people because we don’t think they can handle the truth the way we want them to.”

“But that makes it even worse!” Her eyes were wide in indignation. “If she can’t trust Elena or you or me or Tyler after all the times we’ve been there for her, then that’s _her_ fault.”

She blinked in shock before it turned into a low-burning anger. “Caroline, you know life’s not that simple. People like to overthink things. You of all people should relate. And who’s to say we haven’t done or said something that made her feel unsafe to express her thoughts?”

“You’re both right,” Elena hurried to placate them, “to a certain degree. I think I should tell Bonnie that she’s safe to tell me anything and that it hurts to know she’s keeping things from me.”

Caroline rolled her eyes. “That’s not gonna work. You know how she gets. She’s an expert at dodging questions.” She ate the last piece of her popcorn and stood. “If you don’t get the answer out of her by tomorrow, I’m interrogating her myself.”

“Caroline…” Elena watched as she walked away and turned her gaze onto Angela. “What got into her?”

She shrugged and pursed her lips sarcastically. _“You know how she gets.”_

Elena shook her head with an exhale. “Guess so.” As the team started wrapping things up, she downed the rest of her Coke and stood. “Should we start heading home?”

Angela helped her gather the trash. “Good idea.”

The sun was warm on her skin as they passed by the boys high-fiving each other. The chatter of the team became quieter as they stepped behind the bleachers and headed in the direction of the parking lot.

Elena’s gasp caught her attention. She followed her wide eyes and her heart stuttered in her chest when she saw Damon, dressed all in black, only a couple feet away from them.

 _Well, that was sooner than expected._ “Hello,” she greeted him with narrowed eyes.

“Hello, _Angela,”_ he smirked and stepped closer. He turned his eyes onto her sister and they flashed with an emotion she couldn’t quite discern. His smirk widened and he stuck his hand out. His left hand. _Why his left hand?_ “You must be Elena. Your sister told me all about you.”

Elena swallowed nervously before smiling and giving him her own. “Hell-” as opposed to shaking it like a normal person, he brought it up to his lips and kissed it. “o…”

His smirk turned into more of a smile as he shifted his eyes onto Angela. “Didn’t she tell you about me?”

“I didn’t think it important to,” she answered for her sister. “It’s not like you and I are close or anything.”

“Ah,” he tilted his head and let go of her hand. “I see.”

“Elena,” she gently squeezed her shoulder, “maybe you should go home without me. I’d like to talk to Damon for a bit.”

Even though Elena was very visibly nervous, she did her best to smile and nod. “Alright. Nice to meet you, Damon.”

That seemed to amuse him somehow. “Yes, it was.”

Angela watched as her sister walked away, occasionally glancing back at them, until she could no longer see her. She turned to look at Damon and her heart leapt to her throat when she found him far closer than he was before. “I assume you’re here for the necklace.” She brought her hand up to his chest to push him away from her, but he trapped it there. “I’ll give it to you at eight o’clock tonight in front of the to-mb…”

He leaned down until his face was barely an inch from the vein in her neck. He breathed in deeply, and she must’ve forgotten how to breathe herself, because if she hadn’t, the rise of her chest would’ve had her brushing up against him.

“That’s raspberry, isn’t it?” His breath was hot against her, sensual almost, but the goosebumps it made break out on her skin were from pure, unadulterated fear. “No. Wait.” Another deep breath, this time complete with an “ahhh” as he exhaled. “Strawberry. It’s strawberry, isn’t it?”

“W-what are you talking about?” Her voice was much too weak for her own liking.

He finally pulled back. “Your moisturizer. It’s strawberry-scented, isn’t it?”

She blinked and took a shallow breath. “What does that have to do with anything?”

He smiled, and it would have been kind if his eyes weren’t so cold. He brought her hand up to his nose. “Did you know that I can smell something from as far as fifty feet away? Not very accurately, I admit. I’d have to get closer for that, but… when something is right in front of me,” he squeezed her hand, “I can smell traces of things you can’t even imagine. And when I found a broken candle on the sidewalk today…” she felt her legs go weak “well, I didn’t find it _too_ odd, but then I wondered why there were a bunch of herbs scattered around it. And when I brought it up to my nose and made out a hint of not raspberry, but _strawberry,_ I wondered where I’d smelled it before. But then I remembered.”

She swallowed, feeling like she was about to faint. “I don’t understand.” She wanted to say more. She wanted to say so much more, but she could barely think enough to keep her body standing.

His smile twitched and he looked at her with a mocking sort of sweetness. He caressed her hand as he slowly let it go. “No, of course you don’t, do you? And I’m sure you don’t understand why… _Elena”_ he purred her name in a way that revolted her “recognized me today. Do you?”

She was going to die. She was going to have a heart attack and die. She took a shallow breath. “I don’t-”

“You’re a liar, Angela. Aren’t you? And you’re not the only one with a vervain tattoo.” Her eyes widened in sick realization. _Her left hand. He took Elena’s left hand._ She was going to die.

She moved her mouth, but no words came out. She wanted to say something clever. What it would be, she didn’t know, but if she could only make _some sort of noise,_ she might just figure it out.

“Who the hell are you?” Tanner. She snapped her wide eyes to find him turning the corner from the football field to where they were. _Oh, no, no, no, not now._

Damon sighed in fake disappointment and petted her cheek with the back of his fingers. “It’s not very nice to lie to people, you know.”

“Hey!” _Please just leave._

“That would make you a bad person, Angela.”

“I’m talking to you!” _Don’t throw your life away._

“And it would make me have to teach you to be good. Wouldn’t it?”

“Is he bothering you?” _Not now that I decided to save you._ But she couldn’t save him, could she? Not really. She was so stupid, thinking she could be a hero when she was so incredibly weak. She was the stupidest person alive.

He drew his hand away from her face. He tried to look at her sadly, but could barely suppress his laughter. “Maybe this’ll help put you on the right track.”

And then he was on him. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the shock on William Tanner’s face, which quickly turned into horror. She couldn’t stop watching as his hands clawed at Damon’s head and he kicked his legs, trying with everything he had to wrench his assailant away from his throat. She couldn’t stop hearing the muffled screams that escaped the prison of Damon’s hand. She couldn’t stop her legs from giving out, just like she couldn’t stop her eyes from watching the life slowly drain out of her History teacher’s body. Finally, when his arms and legs went from sluggishly resistant to unmoving, Damon threw his corpse off of him and onto the green grass. His cold, dead eyes were staring through her.

Damon wiped the blood away from his mouth and licked it up from his fingers with a moan. He stepped closer to her, but she couldn’t think enough to move her body. He crouched down in front of her and caressed her face with a smile. “See you at eight, Angel-cake.”

Then, he was gone.

Then, she was cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a darker chapter, but it’s not all sunshine and rainbows in this fic. Unfortunately. That’d be great for everyone involved if it was. Except for me, because I’m incapable of keeping things light and fluffy.


	6. Consume

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDITED 10/06/2020: Realized there was a consistency error regarding the contract. If you've already read this chapter and don't want to re-read it, check the notes at the end so you get caught up to speed.
> 
> Eighteen. THOUSAND. Words.
> 
> I have poured my blood, sweat, and tears into this chapter. I have made my terrible sleep schedule even WORSE for this chapter. I feel like I’m on the brink of insanity, oh my god.
> 
> Oh, and the SMUT has arrived. It’s in between the three circles that look like this: ooo
> 
> So much happens in this chapter, good fucking lord, it may as well be a season finale. You better leave some nice comments, or I stg I will be VERY mildly upset. (please don’t feel obligated to do so, only do what makes you feel comfortable, okay? okay, love you.)

**CHAPTER 5**

_**CONSUME** _

It was warm in her bed.

The world had felt like a dream ever since the Tanner incident, but she remembered running to the parking lot on the way home. She remembered seeing their car still there, and Elena sitting behind the wheel.

 _“C-call 911,”_ she’d stammered as soon as she got inside.

_“What? Why? What happened?”_

She had to take multiple deep breaths before she was able to speak. _“Tanner. Dead. Call.”_

_“What? Oh my God…”_

She’d glared at her then. She _had_ to get out of there. _“Elena. Call 911.”_

The man who’d taken her call had asked her to stay on the grounds because the police would want to interview her for a witness statement. Elena had nervously gone over to the scene of the crime, and Angela had driven home in a daze.

 _“Welcome back!”_ Jenna had been reading something. _“Hey… is everything okay?”_

She hadn’t been able to make herself smile, but said that everything was fine. Whether or not she’d believed her, she didn’t really care. All she cared about was that she’d left her alone since then.

She hugged the notebook containing the information about the Gilbert case closer to her chest. There was not a single doubt in her mind that Damon was capable of killing her parents. _But how would he even get in? They were always careful with their word choice._ “It’s this way,” or “Welcome,” and a gesture towards the inside of the house. They’d never once, in all the time that Angela had been old enough to understand what they were saying, uttered the words “come in.”

When she sighed, her chest felt heavy. She was so, so tired. She wanted to sleep, but every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was Damon ripping Tanner’s throat out. It was the first dead body she’d seen since her parents had been murdered, and he’d gone the exact same way they had. Though, granted, his body hadn’t been as absolutely brutalized as her father’s had.

She squeezed her eyes shut. _Stop thinking about him. Stop thinking about them. _She hadn’t felt this lost in a good long while.

There was a knock at the door, and her eyes flew open. She sat up so quick she made herself dizzy. “Who is it?”

She realized who it was before he could get halfway through tapping out his name. She scrambled out from under her duvet but kept the notebook hidden. She patted her face a few times to look more alive and, as cheerily as she could, called “Come in!”

The door opened and Jeremy’s sweet little face poked in. He had a large, hard-cover book in his hands.

“Is that… a biology textbook?”

He nodded and sat down next to her. He’d written something on a sticky note and handed it to her to read, but she shot him a look.

“If you want to say something, sign it. I know you can.”

He looked at her with a severely unimpressed expression, but she simply raised her eyebrows to signal that she was waiting. Finally, he grudgingly signed “Help me study,” and she clapped in praise.

“See? You did it!”

He rolled his eyes with a bashful smile. She slid the open book into her lap and stared at it until she became confused. “Plant structure? This is way ahead of what you’re being taught in class.”

His eyebrows furrowed in thought before he signed “Read ahead. Be a doctor, like Dad.” That made her breath catch in her throat.

“I want to.”

He nodded and repeated the hand motions. “I want to be a doctor, like Dad.”

She couldn’t stop the tears from welling up in her eyes. She ran her fingers through his hair. “That’s wonderful, Jeremy.”

He smiled and rolled his eyes again. “Don’t cry.”

“Right,” she gave a wet chuckle, “sorry, it’s just… it’s been a rough day. Anyway,” she tapped the textbook with a grin, “let’s get started, okay?”

Consequences be damned, she wouldn’t trade her brother for the world.

Spending time with Jeremy helped calm her down enough to where she was able to eat a quick meal, and she had just put her plate in the sink when she heard Jenna’s slipper-clad feet rapidly approaching her. Looking over her shoulder, she could see her holding her cell phone in distress.

“I just got off the phone with the Sheriff.” _Ah, shit._

Angela waited for her to continue talking, and when she didn’t, she turned to face her. “How come?”

The way she was looking at her was almost accusatory. “Mr. Tanner was killed by an animal.”

“…Oh.”

 _“Oh?”_ She shook her head in disbelief. “Angie, why didn’t you tell me?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Wha- Oh, I don’t know. You come in the house looking like you saw a ghost, you barely speak to me, you lock yourself in your room for hours, and now I get a phone call saying that your sister’s been at the station this whole time giving a witness statement?”

 _This whole time? It shouldn’t have taken that long, should it?_ “What, are you accusing me of killing him?”

She made an exasperated noise. “No, of course not!” She drew close and pulled her into a hug. “You saw a dead body. That’s traumatic enough on its own, but even more so for you. We could’ve dealt with it together instead of you having to deal with it alone.”

She clenched her jaw in an effort not to cry. “People die all the time. I need to get used to it.”

Jenna pulled back to look at her with a worried expression. “Yeah, they do. But most people have never seen someone that’s been _killed_ before, and you’ve already seen three.”

She couldn’t help but let out a wry chuckle. _Three is nothing in the world me and Elena were born in. How the hell is she meant to understand that?_ Angela had considered running away from it all, once. She’d considered making something up about how she hated it in Mystic Falls and packing a bag in the night just so she could have some kind of shot at a normal life.

That idea was swiftly shot down. She couldn’t stand the thought of Elena and Jeremy beginning to hate her when she didn’t show up to their parents’ funeral. She couldn’t stand the thought of Aunt Jenna dying and Bonnie having so much taken away from her because of her own selflessness. And of course, even if she managed to live with herself after all of that, knowing that Klaus would inevitably hunt her down to ensure she continued the doppelgänger line left her with little choice but to either end her own life or try and become an inferior version of Katherine.

Jenna’s lips thinned into a line. “Look, if you want, Dr. Gills is excellent at what he does.”Angela shook her head. He couldn’t help her unless she compelled him. “If you’d feel uncomfortable talking to a stranger, I’m here too, but I was always gonna go into research rather than actually talking to people.”

“No, Aunt Jenna, it’s okay.” She gave a smile and pointed to it. “See? Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Worry about Jeremy instead. Do you know he wants to be a doctor?”

Her eyes widened. “What, really?”

She nodded. “He came into my room with this big old biology textbook he’s almost halfway through and asked me to study with him.”

A hopeful smile was forming on her face. “Oh my God…Where is that little punk?”

“In his room, I’m pretty sure.”

Jenna’s head turned at the sound of keys jingling outside the front door. _Dammit. I’d almost distracted her._ A few seconds later Elena came in, looking exhausted, and Jenna hugged her wordlessly. She sighed and hugged her back, but her eyes were empty.

“We don’t have to talk about it right now if you don’t want to,” Jenna gently muttered, “but know that I’m always here, okay?”

Elena closed her eyes and nodded into her shoulder. “Okay.”

Jenna slowly pulled back to look at Angela. “That goes for all three of you. You kids are all I have left.”

Her heart ached at that. “We love you, Aunt Jenna.”

“I love you, too. Now, unless either of you feel like talking, I’m gonna go check up on your brother.”

Elena smiled. “Go ahead. I’d like to spend some time with Angie.”

Giving a nod, Jenna soon disappeared up the stairs. Elena was quiet until they heard Jeremy’s door open and shut. Then, her gaze fell on Angela. “Was it Damon?”

 _Wow, cutting right to the chase, huh?_ “Yes.”

Elena swung her bag off her shoulder and dropped it carelessly on her way to the couch. She sat with a sigh, and Angela tentatively walked closer.

“How come you were at the station for so long?” Angela asked. “It shouldn’t take that long to give a witness statement, should it?”

She huffed. “Not unless the sheriff knows you know about vampires.” _Oh. Right. Speaking of…_

“Did you,” she glanced off to the side, “you know?”

“What, tell her about them?” She shook her head. “I didn’t wanna put anyone at risk.”

She felt a bit of weight lift off her shoulders and sat down next to her sister. Elena grabbed her hand immediately. Her voice was small when she spoke. “Is that what Dad looked like? All… bloody and mauled?”

Angela furrowed her eyebrows as she thought of how to word it. “Worse.”

“How much worse?”

“Lena, you don’t wanna talk about this right now.”

“Yes, I do.” She looked determined. “I’m a Gilbert, right? We know about vampires. We _hunt_ vampires. I need to know what I’m gonna be up against if I want to continue the legacy.”

“The legacy?” She looked at her in disbelief. “Our lives don’t have some predetermined destiny we need to follow. I’m actively working _against_ destiny, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“I know. I know, but this is something I want to do.”

She wasn’t sure she liked this. She wasn’t sure she liked it at all. “So, what, are you gonna go all Buffy on us now?”

She chuckled. “Please, there’s no way I’ll ever be as cool as Buffy. But yeah, I guess; in essence. I can’t just sit back and do nothing, knowing all I know.”

“Elena, are you actually serious about this? Think about what it means. You’re not just gonna have to hurt people. You’re gonna have to _kill_ people. People who probably love people. People who probably have family. Or else you’re gonna die.”

She threw her hands up in the air. “What other choice do I have, Angie? It’s not just now that I’m thinking about it. It’s been on my mind since June, but Tanner was the breaking point, and I don’t think I’ll be able to live with myself if I don’t do something. Which is something you of all people should understand.” She sighed and leaned back, further into the dark brown leather. “You have foreknowledge. Let me have this.”

She pressed her lips into a thin line. _There’s no changing her mind, is there?_ “Well… I suppose there are worse destinies.”

Elena looked over at her with a gentle smile. “Yeah, I suppose there are.” She seemed to remember something. “Tyler called. Said he tried to call you first but you weren’t picking up.”

Angela sucked air in through her teeth. “Ah, yeah, I might’ve… hid my phone in my bag so I could have my breakdown in peace.”

She shook her head with a huff. “Man, today sucked, didn’t it? And it’s not even over yet.”

“I’m trying not to think about it too much.”

“Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to help?”

She shot her a look. “Lena, we’ve talked about this. The best thing you can do is stay right here, at home, and guard Jeremy. Bonnie’s dad wanted her home, you said?”

“Yeah. He didn’t like how much time she was spending with the crazy,” she wiggled her fingers, “side of the family.”

She stood with a snort. _Humans._ “Of course he didn’t. I should call Tyler back. Did he say what he wanted?”

“His mom told him that Mr. Tanner died and that I was a witness, so he assumed you knew as well.” She eyed her knowingly. “You know… it’s kinda weird that he didn’t call to comfort _me._ Considering I’m the one who actually went down to the station.”

Angela shrugged. “He’s more used to getting emotional with me. It’s not that weird.”

“Uh-huh…”

She raised a brow. “Are you implying something?”

Elena shook her head with a smile that looked almost smug. “Nope. Nothing at all. Go call him,” she got up, “I’m gonna go find the source of that delicious smell and eat until I feel like I’m giving birth.”

“Sounds good.”

Angela could hear Jenna talking to Jeremy in his room, but the sound was too muffled for her to make out anything that was being said. She shut her door, grabbed her bag, and sat down on her bed with a tired exhale.

 _Two missed calls from Tyler. Great. Well, at least they’re not from Caroline._ Angela dialed his number and brought the phone up against her ear. He picked up almost immediately.

_“Hey. Are you okay?”_

“Considering he was killed right in front of me? I’m doing as okay as can be expected.”

She heard him curse beneath his breath. _“You have really bad luck with vampires, Angie.”_ He didn’t say it outright, but she’d known him long enough to know what was left unsaid: “ _Considering how many people they’ve murdered around you.”_

She lied down so her legs were hanging off the bed. “Let’s talk about something else, okay? I was just beginning to feel better.”

_“Right. Yeah. Of course. Is there anything I can do to help you with tonight?”_

She moaned in displeasure. “God, not you, too. I’ve already got Elena asking me every five seconds and I _finally_ managed to get Bonnie and Caroline to stop.”

He changed his tactic. _“Hey, I just miss hanging out with you. How else am I supposed to pass the time?”_

She raised a brow even though he couldn’t see her. “You could always do your homework.”

He groaned. _“I’d rather just do nothing.”_

She laughed then, for the first time since Tanner’s death. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out.” Her smile gentled. “Thanks for calling, by the way. You’re always there when I need you.”

He seemed to hesitate for a moment. _“You’re always there for me, too. I’d be a pretty shitty best friend if I didn’t return the favor.”_

“Thought you said the term best friend lost meaning three friends ago.”

“Yeah, well,” his voice turned soft, “you were the first friend I ever made. It still has meaning for you.”

Her breath hitched. “Dammit, Ty,” she huffed, “don’t get all mushy on me now. I’ve been trying not to cry all day.”

She heard him chuckle. _“Maybe it’s time to finally let it out.”_

She shook her head and wiped away the tears that were building up in her eyes. “No. Not yet. If I cry now, I won’t be able to get through tonight.”

_“Well, promise me you will at some point. I remember you saying that if you ignore sadness it becomes anger a lot of the time, and the last thing I need is another me running around.”_

That made her laugh again. “Hey, I wouldn’t mind another you. But… alright. I promise.”

_“Good. And even if it happens at four in the morning, if you need someone to help you through it, call me and I’ll be there.”_

_God, what the hell would I do without him?_ She nodded. “I will. Thank you, Ty. You’re a really good _best_ friend.”

He chuckled. _“You’re a really good best friend, too.” _There was the sound of a chair squeaking before he sighed. _“I should get going. My mom needs me to help with the Founder’s thing.”_

“Alright. See you later?”

_“See you later, A-game.”_

Her cell phone rang before she could exit the house.

After the call with Tyler and assuring Elena that she would be alright yet again, she felt almost prepared for what was to come. Glancing down revealed the caller to be Anna. She stepped outside and hit _Accept._

“Hey, is everything alright?”

There was a beat of silence before Anna’s calm, young-sounding voice came through. _“Just making sure you’re still up for this. I’ve come too far to not get her out of there.”_

She raised a brow as she made her way over to the car. “Absolutely, I’m up for it.” She unlocked and opened the door. “I’m on my way right now.”

_“Good. I’ll see you there.”_

“W-wait!”

_“Yes?”_

“I just remembered today,” she said as she sat down. “Wasn’t there a young black man that was a family friend or something? He’s in there too, isn’t he?”

 _“Harper,”_ she breathed. _“You’re right. He was always loyal to Mother. She’d want me to save him.”_

“Right, that was his name. Okay, well… see you soon.”

 _“Drive safe.”_ And with that, she hung up. She wanted to ask her how she knew she would be driving, but then she remembered that vampires had super hearing. She must’ve heard her enter the car.

She’d just turned the key in the ignition when her phone dinged with a message. _Well, I’m awful popular today, aren’t I?_

_Sheila: I’m there._

She texted back a quick “OMW” and snorted at her response of _“What does that mean?”_ She might be the oldest living witch of an incredibly powerful line, but she was still a fifty-three-year-old in 2009. She pressed her foot against the gas and hoped to all that was good that she’d still be the oldest living Bennett witch tomorrow.

She had to park quite a ways away, at a dead end, since there wasn’t sufficient room for a car to enter the forest. After a bit of walking, she could finally see the tomb. A vigilant-looking Sheila was standing in front of it with a gasoline tank by her feet, destined for the vampires they wouldn’t be saving.

Sheila pet her hair as a greeting. “I hope you didn’t forget to bring the talisman.”

She gestured towards her bag. “I checked four times. It’s in there.”

“Good. You’d never hear the end of it otherwise.”

“Oh, but I love the sound of your voice, Ms. Sheila. Your lectures are a reward in and of themselves.”

She rolled her eyes and Angela felt a gust of wind flick her forehead. “Watch that mouth of yours. Now, did anything interesting happen while I was gone?”

“Well… My history teacher was killed.”

Sheila’s eyes sharpened. “Killed? By what?”

 _Dammit, I shouldn’t have said that._ She wanted this to go as smoothly as possible. “An animal.”

Sheila raised a disbelieving brow but didn’t push the subject further.

It was precisely eight o’clock when she spotted Anna in the distance. _And so it begins._ She was grateful that a familiar figure like Sheila was there. _Am I becoming too dependent on her? Probably._

“Hey,” Angela said in as confused a manner as she could muster, knowing that Anna could hear her.

She apparently took that as permission to approach, as in a breath she was right in front of them. “Hey-” she choked, and Angela turned to see Sheila’s eyes narrowed menacingly.

“Who is this?” she demanded, but Angela could see the tiny smirk on her lips. _She’s enjoying this, the crazy old hag._

“Sheila, don’t! She’s a friend.”

She looked at her in what would’ve been severe apprehension if the glint in her eyes was one of distrust instead of humor. After a moment she sighed, and Anna stopped clutching her head. If looks could kill, Sheila would have died then and there.

“Thanks,” Anna barked.

“Sorry about that,” Angela gave an awkward smile, “but she wasn’t expecting you. And neither was I, actually. Are you here to make sure Katherine gets out safe?”

“Excuse me,” Sheila interrupted them, “but I repeat: who is this?”

“The person who made me come to you about the talisman in the first place. What _is_ your name, anyway?”

“My name is-”

“Annabelle.” Angela turned to look at the source of the voice, and found a very sour-looking Damon walking towards them. He’d changed out of the shirt he’d been wearing when he attacked Tanner, although… “You’ve got to be kidding me. _You’re_ A?”

“Damon,” Anna deadpanned. “I see age hasn’t made you any more charming.”

“Is that blood?” Angela asked in shock. The cuff of his sleeve was darker than the rest.

He shot her a sarcastic smile. “Yeah, some of your teacher’s guts transferred over.” _God-fucking-dammit, Damon._

“What?” Sheila exclaimed, but then she sneered at him. “I had a sneaking suspicion. You’re deplorable.”

He narrowed his eyes and took a menacing step closer.

“Alright, alright,” Angela moved between them, “enough. Look, we all have a common goal here. We want to open the tomb.”

“Yeah, speaking of,” Damon nodded towards Anna, “how come you want Katherine out so bad?”

She sighed. “I don’t.”

“What?”

_What? Why is she telling him that?_

“I said I don’t. My mother is in there, and a friend of hers. It’s them I want to get out. But Angela’s right. We all have a common goal. You can get Katherine back and I can get my family.”

“And I can do what Emily wanted,” Sheila added, though Angela knew that she cared far more about her granddaughter than she did an ancestor who had been a vampire sympathizer. She was just glad she saw Bonnie’s need for a mentor enough to go through with this.

Damon’s eyes were filled with distrust, but he let out a sharp sigh. “Fine.” He stuck a hand out, palm up, towards Angela. “Let’s just get this over with.”

 _He knows I have the talisman. How long had he been listening?_ She didn’t see much point in asking him and dug the box out of her bag. She didn’t have any time to unlock it, however, as Damon immediately snatched it away from her.

She glared at him. “Hey, you ass, it won’t work unless-” He swung it open like it was nothing.

_Wait, what?_

She saw Sheila move, ready to strike him down if he tried anything. “How did you to do that?” she hissed.

He raised a brow. “What are you talking about?”

“T-the box,” Angela stammered. “It could only be opened by me, in case someone tried to steal it. How the hell did you do that?”

“Uh… with my hands, I think.”

Sheila glared. “Now’s not the time to be funny, vampire.”

“Seriously, I have no idea what you mean.” He seemed oddly sincere, Angela thought, to be lying about this. _But if he’s telling the truth, then how the hell did he manage to open it? It’s like there was no magic on there at all._

And then her eyes widened in realization.

_“I’d like to ask you something,” Sheila said one summer afternoon. She’d invited her over for some hummingbird cake that had been made by one kind Mrs. Davis._

_Angela licked the frosting off her fork. The sound of the wind chimes Bonnie had set up made for a calm kind of ambience, though it was just a bit too hot for her to be happy about sitting outside._

_“How did I die?” That made her freeze. Sheila chuckled at her expression. “Oh, don’t be surprised. Like you wouldn’t want to know.”_

_She furrowed her brows and set her fork down. “Are you sure? Sometimes we think we want to know something but we don’t.”_

_“If I knew, would I be able to prevent it from happening?”_

_“Well… yeah, I guess so. It might help, actually.”_

_She nodded. “Then I want to know.”_

_Angela sighed in resignation. “At some point, I’m going to ask you for help with opening a tomb. If you agree, there’s a big chance we can prevent your death. Of course,” she chuckled, “you’d just ask to get rid of the people who want to open the tomb in the first place, but… that’s not an option in my mind.”_

_Sheila raised a brow. “That doesn’t tell me how I died.”_

_“Well, if you’d let me finish…” Sheila raised her hands defensively, but she could see the laughter playing on the edge of her lips. Angela rolled her eyes fondly. “You used too much magic all at once. They didn’t manage to open the tomb the way they were meant to, so you had to overexert yourself to make it happen. But with our help, they’d have a better chance at doing it right.”_

_She leaned back in the wicker chair and let out a breath. “Magic overuse, huh? Well, that’s pretty pathetic.”_

_Angela blinked in surprise. “Pathetic?”_

_She huffed a laugh. “I’d be the first Bennett in history to die from being bad at what Bennetts do best: magic.”_

_“The first? But there have been so many of you.”_

_“One almost did, but she found a way to survive. Bridget, her name was. We’re all connected, you know, us Bennetts. Our magic recognizes its kin. She instinctively consumed her daughter’s magic, killing her and saving herself.”_

_“Well, shit-”_

_“Language.”_

_She shot her a playful stink-eye. “Darn. That must’ve sucked.”_

_“It was a good thing ultimately, for her descendants. It’s helped us not make the same mistake.”_

_“Wait, so,” she straightened in her seat, “does that mean you guys are, like, semi-siphoners or something?”_

_Sheila sneered. “Don’t ever say that again. No, we can only do it as a last resort.”_

_“Huh…”_

_“What,” her lips quirked up, “did your television show never tell you that?”_

_She shook her head. “I… guess it just never came up. Bonnie was pretty much the only Bennett witch throughout the show, and as far as I remember, she never overused her magic like that.” A thought came to her. “Wait, so, would it work the other way around?”_

_“What do you mean?”_

_“Well, like… say I’m a dead Bennett witch. Would I be able to consume your magic and use it to power myself? Since I’m not alive and well, would that ability work?”_

_She raised her eyebrows. “I’ve never thought about that before. Ah, but that probably tells you something about it.” She gathered a bit of cake and brought it up to her lips. “Must’ve been no one’s been desperate enough to try. Yet.”_

“Emily,” she breathed. “She consumed your magic.” _God, and since it wasn’t directly from the source and from a spelled object, Sheila’s still alive._

Sheila’s face went slack. “The magic I put on the box.”

“An abomination,” came a feminine voice, “but clever.”

Emily, for lack of a better word, looked terrifying. Her limbs were either too long or too short, and much, much too thin. There were dark circles beneath her eyes and parts of her that were gone completely. There was no nose on her face, nor did her eyes have any eyelids. There was no hair on her head, no shoes or accessories, and her dress was enough to preserve her modesty but not enough to be elegant.

“Emily?” Damon asked, clearly perturbed. “You look… different.”

She smiled, and something about it was entirely inhuman; entirely wrong. “Hello, Damon. It’s been quite some time.” Her voice was thin, like she hadn’t used it since she’d died.

“Emily,” Sheila grabbed her attention. “Please, don’t try to stop us.”

Emily frowned and Angela realized what was so wrong. Where there should have been lips there was nothing; only flat skin. “I won’t _try._ I _will_ stop you.”

“I thought you wanted this,” Damon motioned towards the tomb. “We made a deal.”

She shook her head. “Things have changed. I need to protect my family.” She looked at Sheila with disapproval in her lidless eyes. “Even if they refuse to protect themselves.”

“You don’t understand,” Angela’s voice came out shaky. “If you don’t let us do this then Sheila will die. Bonnie will be lost. You won’t be protecting your family, you’ll be damning it.”

When she looked at her, she seemed overwhelmed by disgust. “I beg to differ,” her thin voice hissed. “I think that if I don’t let you do this, Sheila will finally come to her senses, take Bonnie, and get out of this cursed town.” She turned to address her descendent. “We can kill them. I used most of your magic to bring my essence through rather than form my body. Say yes and I’ll spare both you and the parasite.”

“No, you won’t!” Angela was beginning to panic proper now. “Sheila made a contract. If I don’t give Damon your talisman I’ll die!”

“Yeah,” said Damon, eyes tight, and she silently thanked him for not questioning anything they were saying. “Would you be okay with killing an innocent human?”

 _“It_ is not innocent. Nor is it human. And I’d be all too happy to exterminate it.”

“Enough.” Sheila’s tone left no room for discussion. “Bonnie is my family, and Angela is _her_ family. So, with all due respect, I think that I know my own granddaughter well enough to say that taking her away from her family would destroy her.”

Emily deflated. “That’s a no, then?”

She could see Sheila’s nostrils flare in what might’ve been either anger or well-masked fright. “That’s a no.”

At that moment, a blur rushed towards Emily’s distorted form, but she raised an arm and it was flung against a tree. _Anna. She must’ve snuck behind her while we were talking._ She hit the ground with a pained hiss.

Emily looked heartbroken. “They’ll punish you for this, Sheila. Please. Please, say yes and we can forget you ever defied me.”

Sheila’s jaw ticked and she closed her eyes. When she opened them, Angela could have sworn they were made of fire. “I serve Nature. And the way I see it, refusing to help keep Her creatures alive would be defiance immeasurable.

Emily sighed. She gave one final, sad smile before the box was thrown out of Damon’s hand and into her own.

Angela lurched forward. “No!” She felt a force hit her, but she barely had time to register it before her mind went blank.

Her mouth opened instinctively. To gasp for air or to scream, she couldn’t know, but she became all too aware of the fact that her back and head were made of meat. They were made of meat that had been tenderized by a mallet, and when she tried to breathe, the mallet hit again. The pain was intense and crushing, and then something moved her poor, tenderized, made-of-meat head, and she couldn’t stop the cry that tore from her throat.

 _“Hey, hey, easy.”_ Somewhere, her brain recognized Anna’s voice. Her blurred vision made out a bright, orange light materializing, and then she felt something warm and wet on her tongue. It tasted like copper as it slid down her throat. _Blood,_ she realized as she tried not to choke on her sobs. The time it took for her to heal must not have been very long, but it felt like an eternity in her position.

Her vision was back to normal when she heard Anna say “Shit, that must’ve hurt, huh?” When the _mhm_ she made in response didn’t make the mallet hit her again, she deemed it safe to pull away from her wrist and try to sit up. She ached a bit, but it was far from the blinding pain she had felt when she’d hit the hard, rough tree trunk.

She could see now that the orange light had been a flame that surrounded Emily; so bright she couldn’t see through it. Sheila seemed to be concentrating on something, but she was beginning to get frustrated. She could see Damon looking up and far away, his eyes trained on something beyond her line of sight.

She gently turned her head towards Anna. “Thank you.”

Anna huffed and helped her stand up. “You’re the one keeping this whole thing from falling apart. Wouldn’t do to let you die.”

She ignored how nice the sentiment made her feel. “Speaking of this whole thing falling apart,” she said, “is there anything my human self can do to help?”

Anna’s lips thinned into a line. “Hide.” She flashed away before she could open her mouth to respond. _Great._ Angela decided to take her advice and moved behind the tree she’d hit.

“I can’t hurt her,” Sheila called out, “she’s already dead. I can’t even _move_ her.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Damon said, and Angela thought she saw something black moving through the trees.

She was struck by a thought. “Sheila! Make her use up her magic! If she can’t form a body, she can’t stay here!” Sheila seemed to listen to her, as she went from only glaring at the fire to muttering something inaudible.

She could see the black thing clearly now, and made it out to be a bird. More specifically, a crow. _That’s right! The show removed Damon’s weird abilities later on, but it’s not like you can do that in real life. You either have them or you don’t._ The bird flew above where she imagined Emily to be and dove down into the circle of fire.

Angela felt something small hit her head. She reached a hand up to pick it off, assuming it was only a twig from above her, but found nothing there. Something small hit her shoulder. She looked down, and it took her a minute to understand what was happening. _Water._ She looked at Sheila. _She’s making it rain. If Emily has to fight to keep the flames up, she’ll exhaust her magical resources quicker._

The crow hadn’t come out yet. She saw Damon grimace. “You still alive in there?” he asked awkwardly. The crow was thrown, charred and unmoving, through the fire, and Angela felt a stab of guilt at the sight. _Poor thing._

“What the hell was _that_ meant to do?” Anna was pacing back and forth, seemingly waiting for some sort of opening.

Damon glared at her. “It was _meant_ to steal the necklace from her. What plan did _you_ bring to the table other than standing around and doing nothing?”

Anna glared right back and reached to grab a large branch that had fallen down from one of the trees. She only took her eyes off of him for a split second, and that was when she looked at the fire. She aimed the branch and threw it where Angela imagined Emily to be.

There was a sound like something clattering to the ground, and Angela thought she heard an exclamation. _Did she knock it out of her hand?_ She looked to Anna. “Did you knock it out of her hand?”

Anna looked pleased with herself. “I may not be able to see her, but I can hear her moving around. Should buy us a bit of time.” Her hair was beginning to get matted to the sides of her face, and Angela felt a shiver wrack her spine. A rainy September night in Virginia did not make for extreme warmth.

It was odd, to see and feel the rain – which now looked like the beginning of a storm – and yet to see the fire still going strong.

“Do that again!” Sheila yelled. “You caught her by surprise. I felt her hold on the flames weaken.”

Anna and Damon shared a quick glance before the both of them started picking branches up from the ground.

“Ugh,” Anna grunted when Damon’s shot missed, “no, watch me first and then aim where I’m aiming. Baby vamps, I swear to God…”

Damon sucked air in through his teeth. “Yeahhh, I don’t think the chick that had to make a human do her dirty work has any right to criticize me.” He viciously broke a branch off a tree.

Anna narrowed her eyes and nodded towards the jagged piece of wood he held in his hand. “Follow my lead or that’ll end up in your heart.”

Angela had never felt more useless in her entire life. Well no, actually, she had. She’d felt utterly useless, completely meaningless, when her parents had been killed. But now, as she watched four strong supernatural creatures fighting out in the open while she cowered in the shadows, she almost wanted to come out and try to do something in an effort to soothe her pride. It would be stupid though, she knew, and it was a good thing she did, because if she didn’t she might not have realized something.

 _Anna’s right. It’s wood._ _They’re throwing wood at someone who can throw it right back at them._

“Guys, stop!”

Damon turned his head to look at her, bewildered. “What? Why?”

She sighed in frustration. She didn’t want Emily to hear her; she likely hadn’t realized it yet herself. She recalled the phone call from earlier and how Anna had known about the car. She tapped her ear and muttered as low as she could. “You’re throwing stakes at a witch.”

That made Anna freeze immediately after having thrown a branch. Angela saw more than heard her say “shit” as she turned to look at Damon. “We should hide- ah!” The branch had come flying back and pierced her side.

 _Fuck, she figured it out._ The weapon wasn’t quite enough to immobilize Anna however, as in a flash she was hidden behind a tree. Angela looked back to see that Damon had disappeared as well, though she couldn’t see exactly where. The squelch and clatter that Anna ripping the branch out of her body and dropping it onto the ground created was almost enough to make her gag.

The flames had grown a bit weaker thanks to the continuous onslaught of rain, and she could see Emily’s head, but it still didn’t look to be enough. She cursed beneath her breath. “Sheila,” she called out, though she didn’t quite know why. _What can I say? “Mind doing all the lifting?”_ _“Are you gonna die?” “Have you used up all your magic yet?”_ Her eyes went wide and she swung out from behind the tree. _Have you used up all your magic yet._ “Sheila! Can you steal your magic back?”

She saw her give a grin, toothy and wild. She looked a mess, with her light brown coils heavy and sticking against her skin from the rain, her breathing haggard, and her body shaking with the effort it took to keep herself standing. “That’s what I’ve been working on, baby.”

With a twist of the hand, Sheila threw her head back and gasped as her eyes went wide. Angela heard a terrible shriek, and she turned to see what she could see of Emily thrashing wildly. She’d brought her hands up to press against her temples and looked to be in such terrible pain that, at that moment, she felt genuinely sorry for her. She’d only ever done what she thought was best for her family, after all, and that was something Angela could more than understand.

As Emily slowly flickered out of existence, so too did the flames calm and fall, until the only evidence of them ever having been there were the marks of charred earth they left behind.

Sheila collapsed.

 _Shit!_ Angela ran forward and almost slipped over a patch of mud, but she managed to make it to her side. The first thing she did was try to check her pulse, but her fingers were shaking too much and their skin was too wet for her to make out any results.

“She’s alive,” said Damon, who had now become visible, “barely.” She gave a sigh of relief that was half a sob. _It would’ve all been for nothing._

She heard Anna come closer. “Do you want me to heal her?”

Angela glanced over to see her looking almost concerned, though she couldn’t tell if it was due to her being unsure if she could open the tomb without a Bennett witch or if she genuinely cared. She was holding the box. Angela shook her head. “No. I don’t think she’d appreciate that.”

Anna nodded, and the droplets of water that hung on the ends of her hair fell down to her jacket. “Okay.”

Angela looked up at the sky. It was still raining, but it was more of a drizzle; nothing like the raging storm that Sheila had created. “I should get her somewhere warm and dry before she gets pneumonia.”

“I can get her to your car real quick,” Anna suggested, and she looked at her in surprise. Anna rolled her eyes. “What? She’s a valuable ally.”

She looked at her skeptically. _Maybe she does care a little bit._ “Uh huh… But if you leave, who’s gonna keep this one,” she gestured towards Damon, “from eating me?”

He gave a quiet, drawn-out gasp. “Angela, I am _offended._ After everything that we’ve been through, _this_ is how you treat me? Like I’m gonna kill you?” He glanced up and to the left. “Eh, actually, you know what? That might be a good idea.”

She rolled her eyes and dug her keys out from her bag. “I’ve got a couple rolls of paper towels in the trunk. Should help you dry her off at least a little bit. Come back if you hear me scream.”

“You got it.”

“Whoa, whoa, wait,” Damon moved so his hand was blocking the keys. “We’re just gonna let her run off with the car, the witch, and the necklace? No way.” He made a _gimme_ motion towards Anna. “Hand over the box.”

Anna looked at Angela with a severely unimpressed expression on her face before she rolled her eyes and gave it to her instead of him. “There.” She shot Damon a sarcastic smile. “Can I go now?” Angela briefly opened it to make sure that the talisman was, in fact, inside.

He matched her expression perfectly. “Be my guest.”

As soon as Anna and Sheila were out of sight, the resentment Angela had been feeling for Damon ever since the Tanner incident set in, and she became as silent as a grave.

She could see him looking at her from the corner of her eye, as if prompting her to say something. Finally, he groaned. “Seriously? Nothing? After all that?”

She glared at the air in front of her, not moving her body an inch. “I have nothing to say to you.”

He scoffed. “Oh, come on, you’re not still upset about that coach, are you?”

She clenched her jaw. “His name was William Tanner. And he was an innocent man who I’d just resolved to protect a couple hours before you murdered him, so yes, actually, I _am_ still upset.”

“Yeah, well, didn’t do a very good job at protecting him, did you?” That was when she turned to face him, in indignation. “Ah! She looks at me! Is that what it takes, then? I have to make you angry?” His tone turned mockingly upset. “We can’t just have a mature conversation like two civilized adults?”

She blew air out her nose. “A: I don’t think you’re actually capable of being either mature or civilized, and B: I’m not an adult, so… no, I don’t think we can.”

He tilted his head. “You know, since we’re on the topic of what you are… What the hell did Emily mean when she called you a parasite?”

She swallowed. She’d almost forgotten about that. “I have no idea.”

He looked at her flatly. “Yes, you do. Look at you,” he gestured, “you’re all… fidgety. Your composure’s been cracked today; you can’t lie properly. Spit it out.”

“Last time I tried to tell you, you almost killed me.”

He looked as though he was trying really hard to remember. “You’re gonna have to be a biiit more specific.”

She pursed her lips. _Should I tell him? What’s the worst thing that could happen? He could sell me out to a witch who would kill me. Judging by how Emily reacted to my presence and what Sheila said about me supposedly being a devil, they’re not likely to be my biggest fans. He could use me as currency to get the witch to do something. What else?_ Her train of thought was interrupted when Anna materialized in front of them. She felt strangely proud about the fact that she didn’t jump.

“Hey,” she greeted, “is Sheila safe?”

Anna nodded. “I put all those paper towels between her clothes and skin and turned the heat up. I couldn’t exactly change her clothes.”

“That’ll have to do,” she sighed. “This shouldn’t take too long anyway, should it? Oh, speaking of…” She opened the box and handed the talisman to Damon. “There. Now I won’t die.”

He shot her a sardonic grin. “And I still get to die if I don't follow your rules. Goody.”

She rolled her eyes and faced Anna. “I know you swore to bring your mother back with Gilbert blood. If you still want that, be my guest. I even brought an empty jar.”

That visibly surprised her. She moved her mouth silently before her voice broke through. “You don’t have to. You’ve already done a lot.”

She gave a gentle smile. “I don’t mind.”

“Well… if you’re sure.”

Angela took the jar out of her bag and Anna used one of her black, manicured nails to cut her forearm. Although she was nearly certain she would never feel as much agony as she’d felt slamming into that tree, she still had to do her best to distract herself from the pain. Once she’d shed enough blood, Anna was kind enough to heal her a second time.

“Right,” Angela sighed. “Let’s get this over with, shall we?”

“Yeah,” Damon turned to face the tomb, “let’s do that.”

“Wait,” Anna flashed in front of him. “Who says _you_ get to open the tomb?”

She could see that he was beginning to get impatient. “What does it matter who opens it?”

“Exactly,” she crossed her arms, “so let me do it.”

 _“No.”_ He turned to look at Angela. “She listens to you for whatever reason. Tell her she’s being unreasonable.”

Angela rubbed her temples. Sheila’s current predicament was far from ideal, and she wanted to get her home as soon as she could. “The deal I made with Damon was to give him the talisman, so it only makes sense that he would be the one to open it. Speaking of, how the hell _do_ you open it? Do you just press the talisman against the door or whatever?”

“That’s what Emily told me,” he responded as they started walking towards the entrance. “And you better hope she was telling the truth, because if she wasn’t, one of you is dying tonight.”

“Bold of you to assume I’d let that happen,” Anna murmured.

He smirked lasciviously. “Oh, I’m _very_ bold.” Something collided with him, and then he was ten feet away, on the ground. No. Not something. Someone. And when he rolled off of him and quickly stood up, talisman now in his hand, Angela could see who it was.

“Oh,” Damon groaned as he languidly got back on his feet, “you have _got_ to be kidding me.”

A haggard-looking Stefan shook his head, and Angela could see that his chest was bloody. “I’m not letting you free her, Damon.”

 _Today’s just full of surprises, isn’t it?_ “What are you doing here?”

Stefan turned to look at her, and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. _Seems he didn’t know I was here._ Damon rolled his eyes. “Thought stabbing your liver and snapping your neck would’ve gotten the message across, Stef.” Angela glanced at Damon’s sleeve. _So not Tanner’s blood, then. Stefan’s._ She shared a glance with Anna.

“Damon, please,” Stefan looked desperate to change his mind, “don’t you remember anything? What, you think that if you get Katherine out of there she’ll suddenly love you? She _never_ loved you. She never loved anyone but herself.”

Damon’s nostrils flared and he looked about ready to kill. “You’re wrong. She loved me. Just like I loved her.”

“No, you _didn’t._ You were compelled. We were both compelled.”

Damon pointed at him furiously. _“You_ were compelled! You remember everything once you become a vampire, and I’ve _always_ loved her. Even when I knew what she was doing with you.”

He drew his head back in shock, and the silence became deafening. He spoke, though he sounded like the wind had been knocked out of him. “You knew?”

She could see Damon’s jaw working. He smiled bitterly. “You’re not getting in my way tonight. It’s just not happening.” Then he lunged at him, and the two became little more than a whirlwind.

 _Shit. I need to stop this. But how?_ She addressed Anna. “Can you break them apart?” It was too late, however, because next she knew, Damon had Stefan pinned to the ground with one hand, and was holding one of the branches in the other. He raised it, ready to stake his brother, and Angela’s legs must have had a mind of their own, because she didn’t recall making them move.

She’d always found it a bit silly whenever people said that when they had their first kiss, or saved a loved one from getting hurt, or were about to die time slowed down. She still found it silly when Damon brought the large piece of wood down onto Stefan’s chest, because time didn’t slow down. Not at all. If anything, time sped up, and she _had_ to get there in time to save him. But she couldn’t, because she was human.

Stefan gave a great, big gasp and looked down at his chest in shock. Damon stood back up and wiped the back of his hand across the split lip his brother must have given him. He glanced at the smear of blood it left on his knuckle. “Huh, not bad.” He nodded towards the branch. “That should keep you busy.” He walked back towards Anna and took a blood bag out of his pocket. “Let’s do this.”

For a moment, Angela couldn’t breathe. Only when she realized that Stefan wasn’t going grey and that he was still gasping in pain did she move the last few feet and fall on her knees beside him.

“O-oh, my God,” she stammered, hands hovering over the wood. “I-is it safe for me to remove it? It looks like it’s close to your heart.”

“Grazing it,” he managed to grunt.

“Fuck!” She turned her head to see that Anna and Damon were out of sight; likely at the entrance to the tomb already. “Goddammit, why is he like this!? Is it so difficult to _not_ be an asshole for once!?”

“Angie,” he gasped, “I’m kind of – agh – in pain over here.”

“Shit! Right! Sorry. Tell me how to get it out safely.”

He squeezed his eyes shut and it seemed like quite a task for him to open them again. “It’s pointing up and to my left.” He swallowed. “Just – just don’t change the angle.”

She nodded frantically. “Right.” She wiped her clammy hands on her high-waist jeans, though that didn’t do much, considering they were still damp from the rain. _Good as it’s gonna get._

She stood and wrapped her hands around the branch. She made sure that her stance was steady; that her feet weren’t standing in any mud spots and that she couldn’t easily slip. She looked into his eyes worriedly. “You ready?”

He nodded. “Do it.”

She took a deep, steadying breath. _1…_ She dug her heels in. _2…_ She tightened her grip. _3!_ She pulled, and Stefan took a deep, pained breath. She stood frozen for a moment, waiting to make sure he wasn’t dying.

It seemed he noticed, as he nodded and grunted out an “I’m good.”

Her shoulders sagged in relief, and she dropped the branch on the ground carelessly. “Thank _fuck.”_

He gave a weak chuckle. “You know, you curse a lot.”

She swallowed to try and moisten her throat. “Only when a big piece of wood is sticking out your damn chest.”

He hummed in acknowledgment, but then snorted. “Hah. Sticking. Get it? Stick. Wood.”

She got back down on her knees, ignoring how her jeans were likely irreparably damaged. He still hadn’t gotten up. “Do you need some, er, blood?”

“Mm, got any rabbits around here?”

“Um, I don’t know. Can you hear anything running around?”

His eyebrows furrowed and he closed his eyes. He remained silent for so long that she was just about to ask him if he was still lucid when he sluggishly opened his eyes and muttered a simple “No.”

She slapped her thighs. “Awesome.”

The sound of leaves crunching could be heard coming from the direction of the tomb. She turned her head to see Anna walking towards them with a person under each arm. Under her right arm was a man who was looking around him weakly – _Harper_ – and under her left was who must’ve been Pearl. She seemed to be a bit more alert than Harper, but the way her legs moved was just awkward enough for her to not look healthy. _Cons of lying down for more than a century, I guess._ They both looked dusty, dry, and more than in need of a bath.

Angela shot Anna a tight smile. “Everything’s fine, then?”

She nodded and glanced back warily. “For me? Yeah. Damon’s, uh, beginning to freak out a little bit.” She widened her eyes sarcastically. “Wonder why…”

She fidgeted. Pearl and Harper were staring straight at her now, and it was beginning to make her feel uncomfortable. “Will you be taking them back to the motel?”

“Yeah. Until we find a better place.” She glanced at Pearl and her eyes softened. “You should come by tomorrow. I’m sure Mother would want to speak with you.”

“I would.” Pearl’s voice was scratchy.

Angela gave a firm nod. “Absolutely. I’ll come over after school, as soon as I can.”

“Good.” Anna smiled. “Thank you. For everything.” Angela watched them until they were gone from her sight.

“So,” she sighed, “I probably owe you an explanation, don’t I?” She looked down to gauge Stefan’s reaction, but her heart dropped when she saw his eyes closed and his chest unmoving. She gently shook his shoulders. “Stefan?” Nothing. She shook him harder. “Stefan?” It was like his neck had been snapped. She bit her lip and quickly ran her eyes up and down his body. _Not going grey… Guess I just have to wait. Damn animal diet._

Damon suddenly appeared in front of her, and she couldn’t help but jump. _“Where is she?”_ he growled. He looked like he was barely holding it together. His eyes were wild and his hands were shaking.

“W-what are you talking about?”

She squeaked when he flashed in front of her and roughly pushed her back against the ground. Her legs had been folded, and they ached at the new, awkward angle they’d been forced into. He had his hand around her throat; a position he seemed to like.

“I thought we talked about this, Angela,” he snarled, and his voice made her still in fear. He wasn’t Damon at that moment. He wasn’t a sentient being with his own thoughts and emotions. He was a predator; a panther about to devour a frightened little rabbit. _Shame I hadn’t known I was a rabbit earlier. Stefan might be conscious right now._ “It’s not your day to lie. And I swear to God, if you don’t tell me everything right now – and I do mean _everything,”_ he applied a bit of pressure, “I will make the rest of your life a living hell.” Through her fear, she could see the tears building up in his crazed eyes, but she couldn’t think of exhibiting anything nearing empathy.

“Okay.” Her voice came out a whisper. “Okay, I promise. I’ll tell you everything.” She felt a tear slide down the side of her face. “Just please don’t kill me.”

He glared at her, his wet eyes flickering between her own, and the moment he took his hand off her throat and drew back, she instinctively backed away on the heels of her palms. She sat up, wrapped her arms around her knees, and tried not to have a panic attack.

She squeezed her eyes shut to try and calm herself down enough to begin speaking. “Well,” her voice shook badly, but she pressed onward, “if you’ll remember, I said that I already tried telling you the truth. The night we met…”

At some point during her speech, he’d taken a flask out of his leather jacket and begun drinking whatever was inside. Bourbon, if she had to guess.

“… and that catches us up to where we are now. I think.”

He nodded, face empty. “You’re insane.”

That might have irritated her if she wasn’t so damn scared of what would happen if he didn’t believe her. “I swear I’m not.” Even she heard the desperation in her voice. “Look, I know it sounds crazy, I’d think I was crazy too, but I _swear_ I’m telling you the truth.”

He looked at her, and she thought she’d never seen someone so worn down. “Prove it, then. Tell me something no one but me would know.”

 _He’s willing to listen,_ was the first thought that crossed her mind. It was a shame that a second thought never came, however, no matter how hard she willed it. Her mind was completely drawing a blank, likely due to the stress, and she felt the cold hands of anxiety wrapping around her pounding heart.

He scoffed. “Right. Well,” he pushed himself off the ground and started slowly approaching her, “having recently gotten my heart broken, I’m feeling a tiny bit compassionate. I don’t think I’ll make the rest of your life a living hell after all. I’ve already got people I intend to torture for the rest of eternity, kinda got a lot on my plate. What do you say I kill the rest of the town instead? The innocents you didn't put on your little list. I'll even let you choose how they go! Stabbing, shooting, drowning, _draining?_ Your choice, but I recommend draining.”

She wasn’t sure why, but her mind laser-focused on one thing he said in particular: _“I’ve already got people I intend to torture for the rest of eternity.” Damon’s not the kind of guy to torture people, is he? He just kills them, right? He’s impulsive, he lives in the moment. I mean, it’s his biggest flaw, for goodness’ sake. Torture, torture, torture… Why is this so important to me?_

Her breath hitched in realization.

_Torture. The Whitmores. Augustine._

“Enzo.”

His footsteps halted. “What did you just say?”

She lifted her head to look at his bewildered face. “Enzo. Lorenzo St. John. How else would I know about the bond you two formed during captivity? About the plan he hatched, for you to consume both your rations so that you’d grow strong, and about how you had to leave him behind to save yourself?” He was so silent she could hear her own heartbeat, though perhaps that wouldn’t have been too hard to do either way. “Damon, I’m telling you the truth.”

He jerked his head to the side. “No. There’s no way. There’s absolutely no way.”

Somehow, she felt herself strong enough to stand. “Your father. Giuseppe. He slaughtered your pet turkey when you were young and forced you to eat it. He was the first person Stefan ever killed, and I’m glad he did, because he was an absolute monster.” She stepped a few paces closer and looked into his eyes as sincerely as she possibly could. “You asked me to prove it. What more do you want?”

They stood staring at each other for a few moments, her in anticipation and him in wide-eyed disbelief.

“How…” he broke the silence. “How could you possibly know all that?” _He still thinks I’m lying._

Her shoulders sagged in resignation. “You don’t believe me. Which means you’re going to murder everyone, because I have no idea what you want to hear.” She smiled sadly. “I’ve been stupid. I played my cards wrong. I can see that now. I never should’ve approached you in the first place.” Her eyes closed and she took a deep breath. “Draining. It’d be a waste otherwise. You may as well get some nourishment out of it.”

He blinked in astonishment. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who said I’m gonna murder everyone?”

“Uh… _you_ did.”

“Well yeah, but that was before I was planning on using you to find Katherine instead.” _What?_

She straightened up. “So you believe me, then?”

He barked a laugh. “Honestly? I don’t know what to believe. But if you know about _Enzo_ of all people, I don’t think it’s too long a shot to say you know about Katherine, too. So here’s what I want: tell me how to find her, and if I do, I won't go on a bloody rampage.”

She gaped at him before she processed what he was saying. “I-it’s impossible to find Katherine unless she lets you. She should arrive here, though, within a year.”

His eyes filled with hope. “For me?” _Oh, Damon…_

“For Elena,” she said, and the hope was snuffed out.

His smirk tried to be devilish, but she saw how it shook. “Great. I like it here, anyway. Town’s got great food.”

“Wha- Wait. You mean you’re staying until she gets here?”

“Why? Worried she won’t? Worried you were lying?”

It was her turn to laugh. “If I’d lie about something that outlandish, I really _should_ take Jenna’s advice to go see a therapist.”

“Great. Then we have a deal.” He started backing away. “Oh, and,” he motioned towards his brother, “you might wanna take care of that.” His smirk widened before he vanished into thin air.

After a moment of wondering what the hell just happened, she kneeled down next to Stefan, who was still unconscious, and sighed. _Now, what am I meant to do with you?_ She glanced down at his chest, where the branch used to be, but through all the blood she couldn’t tell if he was healing properly. _I’m gonna have to touch it, aren’t I?_ She grimaced. _I’m gonna have to touch the blood._

It was beginning to dry at least, so it didn’t dirty her hand too much, but the idea of what she was doing still disgusted her. There weren’t any wounds that she could feel, but she must have pressed against him a bit too hard, because at some point his entire body jolted and she startled back. Her eyes scanned him up and down in worry, and she felt like the earth had disappeared beneath her when she saw the tips of his fingers beginning to turn grey.

 _No. There’s no way._ But his hand’s blood vessels were becoming dark and visible, and the grey started climbing his fingers.

She acted purely on instinct. She reached down next to her, grabbed the most jagged rock she could possibly find, and sliced her wrist. It didn’t hurt, and had she been able to think of anything but _I need to save him,_ she would’ve known that it was due to the adrenaline. She parted his lips with her uninjured hand and shoved her bleeding wrist into his mouth. Her eyes stayed glued to his hands.

At first the grey persisted, but she pushed against his mouth harder, and it paused in its ascent. She felt his lips beginning to move against her before she heard a soft _click,_ and what must have been his fangs pierced her wrist. The grey was gone completely now, the vessels had begun to disappear, and she let out a breath of pure relief. _Thank fuck._

He brought a hand up to trap her against his mouth, and she shifted nervously. “Stefan?” Nothing. “Stefan.” He seemed to be losing himself in her blood, and her anxiety grew. She swallowed, bringing her free hand up to touch his cheek. “Stefan.”

His eyes opened, and she gasped in fear at the sight of them red and hungry. It took a moment for him to recognize her, and then he roughly pushed her arm away from his mouth. He sat up, his eyes turning back to normal, and she cradled her wrist against her sternum.

He looked at her in confusion before he winced and brought a hand up to his chest. The light the waning gibbous moon provided was just enough for her to see a small piece of wood slowly being expelled from his skin.

“Oh,” she breathed. “It must’ve been entering your heart.”

He picked it out the rest of the way and let it fall from his fingers. “That why I passed out?” he groaned.

“Probably. You were turning grey.”

“So you healed me.”

“Couldn’t just let you die, could I?” Her lips quirked up. “We were becoming friends.” A smile briefly crossed his lips. She saw his eyes searching the area, and she took a guess at what – or rather _who_ – he was looking for. “Damon left.” His eyes snapped to hers. “Katherine wasn’t in the tomb.”

His eyebrows furrowed. “She wasn’t?”

“Nope,” she flashed a tight smile and stood. “But you know who is? A bunch of desiccated, _very_ hungry vampires I still need to torch.” She nodded towards the gasoline tank. “You in?”

He stood up with a grunt. “Only if you tell me what you’re doing here.”

“Deal.”

“So… Elena’s known about vampires this whole time?”

She laughed to try and conceal her disappointment. “Of course that’s the first thing you think of. God, you two are so into each other. Yes, she’s known about vampires – and _you_ – this whole time.” Angela poured gasoline over another vampire. She was completely still, except for her eyes, which followed them both as they moved. She stopped finding it creepy three vampires ago.

He ignored her first two sentences. “Who else knows, exactly?”

She hummed in thought. “Well… she and I are the only ones who know about you specifically, but just about vampires in general? Jeremy, our little brother does, like I said. Sheriff Forbes and her daughter, Caroline, know. The Lockwoods know, too, and that includes the son, Tyler. Then there’s Sheila Bennett and her granddaughter, Bonnie. The Fells know. Um… my aunt, Jenna, _doesn’t_ know, but I’m planning on telling her soon, and… I’m pretty sure that’s it. Oh! Caroline’s dad, who left her and her mom last year, knows, but he doesn’t live here anymore.”

“So… basically everyone who runs the town.”

“Basically.” She poured gasoline over the last vampire, and it was good thing he was the last, because she had almost run out. “And we’re done! Wonderful.” She spun around to face him and dug the box of matches out of her bag. “Now, let’s burn this place to the ground, shall we?”

The fire was almost pretty as it licked at the tomb’s entrance. _Beautiful, really. In a terrifying, gates-of-hell kind of way._

“You know, you still haven’t answered me,” said Stefan. “About why you’re here. You just said that your family’s always known about vampires.”

She sucked air in through her teeth and turned to look at him. “Yeahhh, about that… Damon was right, I’m no good at lying today.” His eyebrows rose. “So, here’s my dilemma: At first, I tried telling your _lovely_ brother the truth, but he didn’t believe me, and so he threatened to kill me. _Then,_ I told him a more easily believable lie – because trust me, the truth sounds absolutely ridiculous – and he believed me. But now, tonight, he forced the truth out of me by – like the sweetheart he is – threatening to make my life absolute hell. So, do I lie to you, hoping you’ll believe me more easily but risking you finding out the truth from Damon? Or do I tell you the truth, knowing you’ll probably lock me in a mental hospital?”

At some point during her rant he’d begun smiling, and as she finished, he looked like he was trying to hide a wide grin. His eyebrows remained raised. “Are you asking for permission to lie to me?”

She huffed a laugh. “I’m _asking:_ what would you do if you were me?”

He hummed and finally succeeded in turning his smile into a serious, contemplative look. “Well… I can’t really say, but I can promise you one thing. I promise I’ll hear you out.”

She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. “You won’t threaten me?”

His eyes barely flicked to the bloody wrist she had wrapped her jacket around, but she still caught the motion. “I won’t threaten you. Promise.”

She was feeling careless, and she could only imagine it was because her mind didn’t know how to deal with everything that had transpired today; or it was because of the blood loss. _Probably the blood loss._ She smiled teasingly and stuck a pinky out. “ _Pinky_ promise?”

He let out a chuckle as he wrapped his pinky around hers. “Pinky promise.”

She clicked her tongue. “Guess you really mean it, then.” She didn’t pull her hand back. It felt oddly nice. “Promise me one more thing? Promise me you won’t laugh?”

His eyebrows shot up again. “Well, now I’m just curious.”

She attempted to glare at him, but it proved to be impossible. “Stefan…”

“Alright, fine,” he made himself stop smiling and squeezed her pinky. “Pinky promise.”

“Okay…” She took a deep breath. _Here goes nothing._ “I was reincarnated.” She waited for him to react in some way, but he seemed to be keeping his promise of hearing her out. She continued, “Not only that – and here comes the truly ridiculous part – but I also lived my first life in a universe different to this one. A universe where the events surrounding Mystic Falls were a story. Where you, and Damon, and even my whole entire family were nothing more than fictional characters.” She paused again, and still no reaction. “And I knew that if I didn’t help Damon with opening the tomb, Sheila would die and Bonnie would be alone and confused. I didn’t want either of those things to happen, so that’s why I’m here. I was helping both him and Anna open the tomb in such a way that the least amount of people get hurt.”

She’d stopped talking for a good long time, and he still hadn’t reacted. She grimaced. “You think I’m crazy, don’t you?”

He blinked. “What? No. No, sorry, I just… I was just processing everything.”

“God, you think I’m crazy.” She finally pulled her hand back to run it through her hair. “Of course you do, how could you not? I _sound_ crazy.”

“No. Hey,” he gently grabbed her shoulders. “I don’t think you’re crazy. Okay? Promise.” He let go of her when she hesitantly nodded. “I was just thinking… It kind of makes sense now.”

It was her turn to raise her eyebrows. “Uhhh, what?”

A smile played at the edge of his mouth. “It kind of makes sense. How you’re so much more mature than the people your age. Why you feel so familiar. You’re older than you look. Like me. You remind me of myself.”

Her mouth opened and closed before she made an odd sort of noise. “Wow, um, I’m gonna be honest? That might’ve just been the last thing I was expecting you to say.”

“Well, I need to keep you on your toes, don’t I?”

She shook her head in disbelief. “Yeah, I guess so…” She saw him glance at her wrist again. _Okay, I need to do something about that._ “So… you know how I said that you used to be a fictional character to me?”

“Which is super weird, by the way.”

“Oh, _super_ weird. But, um, that means that I know you’re probably trying _really_ hard not to drain me dry right now, because you don’t exactly… _do_ human blood.”

He threw his head back in realization. “Ah. Yeah. Well I’m, uh, I’m handling it.”

“You’re _handling_ it?”

“It’s… not the easiest thing in the world,” he glanced back down at her wrist, “but yeah. I’m not going to attack you or anything.”

Her lips thinned in worry. “You know, you don’t have to sugarcoat things for me. If you’re suffering, you’re suffering.”

He avoided her eyes, choosing instead to look at the tomb. “You should probably go home. It’s getting late. Don’t we have school tomorrow?”

She raised her hands defensively. “Alright, alright. I can take a hint. Sorry. I need to take Sheila back to her house first. She’s kinda beat.”

“Sheila? Sheila Bennett was here, too?”

“Oh, yeah, I guess you kinda missed her.” She remembered something and winced. “But she’s unconscious and I’m pretty weak at the best of times, so… I probably won’t be able to get her into her house without any help.”

“Want me to come with?”

She smiled apologetically. “That would be great. But you don’t have to, of course.”

He shook his head. “I want to. I’d like to talk more with you, anyway.” She tried to ignore how giddy that made her feel.

“Find me interesting, do you?” _Stop it._

“Wouldn’t you find me interesting if I said I was from a different universe?”

She gave a gentle smile. “I already find you interesting.” _Angela. Stop it._

He didn’t seem to be expecting her to say that, but quickly mirrored her expression. “Well then… what are you waiting for?” He motioned in the direction of the road. “Lead the way.”

“Ugh,” Angela groaned as they neared the car. She looked down at her clothes. “I’m gonna ruin the seat.”

“Oh, it’s not that bad. Most of the destruction is on your shins and the back of your head.”

She turned to him in horror. “There’s _mud_ in my _hair?”_

Stefan gave a chuckle at the look on her face and shook his head. “Just twigs.”

She turned back towards the car with a moan. “Great.” She peered through one of the backseat windows and saw Sheila exactly as Anna had described her. She waited for a moment to see if her chest was rising and falling, but then remembered who was standing next to her. “How’s her heartbeat?”

His eyebrows furrowed in concentration, and she saw the veins under his eyes beginning to show themselves. He quickly turned his head away. “Yeah, uh, good.” He cleared his throat. “Not as strong as yours, but it’s there.”

She nodded, deciding not to mention how his face had changed. “Good. Let’s go.”

The car ride was silent and awkward, and she couldn’t pretend like she didn’t notice him breathing through his mouth so he wouldn’t smell the blood. “Are you doing okay?”

He startled out of cleaning his chest with the antibacterial wipes she’d given him. “Yeah. Uh, yeah, it’s just… more difficult to ignore it in an enclosed space.” He had his window rolled down, but thankfully for her and Sheila, the warmth the AC provided was enough to keep most of the cold out.

“Do you… want to heal me? Would it help?” _Been drinking an awful lot of vampire blood today._

He shook his head and went back to cleaning himself. “There’s still blood on you. And on your jacket. It wouldn’t do anything right now.”

She nodded and pressed harder against the gas pedal. “Got it.”

After a moment spent in silence, he spoke back up. “Uh, you know, maybe it would help if you talked to me. It helps remind me that you’re a person and not…”

“A blood bag?”

He sucked in a breath. “Yeah.”

“Alright, um… Oh! I really enjoyed listening to that copy of _The Works_ that you gave me.”

“Did you?”

She hummed affirmatively. “I had to dig out my parents’ old record player for it, but that kind of just made it better.”

“Good. I’m glad.”

“Yeah, well I’m sure Elena enjoyed reading _Wuthering Heights_. That was the book you gave her, wasn’t it?”

He finally turned to look at her, and he seemed confused. “What do you mean?”

She glanced at him before focusing back on the road. “What do you mean what do I mean? When you came over a few nights ago. You two talked… Didn’t you tell her you’d give her a copy of _Wuthering Heights?”_

He looked to be genuinely clueless. “No? We mainly just talked about our families and what the future might hold.”

She sat in confused silence before a thought struck her. “Wait, did she start ranting about me or something?”

“Well, I wouldn’t call it _ranting,_ but she did seem upset over something you did.”

She gave a slow nod. “Huh…” _So that’s something else I changed._

“Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have told you that.”

“No, no, it’s okay. We’ve already worked everything out and moved on. Really, don’t worry about it.” She turned onto the street Sheila lived on.

“What’s wrong, then?”

She smiled absently and slowed to a stop. “I’ll tell you some other time. We’re here.”

He gave a nod and click of his tongue. “Yeah, and I’m… not invited in.”

She threw her head against the headrest in irritation. “Of course you’re not. Things can never just be easy, can they?” She turned to look at Sheila. “Think we’ll be able to wake her up for a minute?”

“We can try.”

“That, we can. Worst case scenario, I’m forced to change her in the car, but,” she reached a hand over to touch her clothes, “she’s getting dry, and Anna managed to put paper towels over all her vital organs.”

“Yeah, uh, speaking of… Anna?”

“Pearl’s daughter from 1864. Annabelle. She goes by Anna now, which I honestly can’t blame her for. Annabelle just makes me think of that Christmas movie with the cow. Hey,” she gently shook the witch’s shoulder. “Ms. Sheila.” She saw her eyelids flutter and shook her again. “Ms. Sheila.” She groaned and mumbled something unintelligible. “Ms. Sheila.”

“Christ, _what?”_ Her words were slurred to the point where Angela had to focus in order to make out what she was saying.

“I need to get you inside.”

Sheila uttered something that sounded like “Do it, then,” and Angela huffed.

“Yeah, I would if I was as strong as Sheriff Forbes. I need Stefan’s help, but you haven’t invited him in yet.”

Sheila’s eyes opened a crack, and they eventually focused on Stefan. She let out a weak, quiet snort. “Get outta here. You haven’t aged a day.”

He chuckled softly. “Neither have you.”

She snorted again. “I’ll take that as an insult towards my younger self.”

“You know,” Angela patted Sheila’s leg with a smile, “I think you’re gonna be just fine.”

She sighed loudly. “I’m gonna hate myself for this tomorrow, but… Stefan. Come inside my home.”

“Great.” Angela looked to him. “I’ll unlock the door, you carry her in?”

“Sounds good.”

By the time they had reached her bedroom, Sheila was out like a light. It felt odd to see someone as strong and capable as her being carried to bed like a little girl, but Angela was more concerned about her living to see another day. She decided to shoot Elena a text, saying that she’d be sleeping over because she didn’t want to leave her alone. She decided to shoot Bonnie a text too, to let her know that her Grams was safe.

Stefan had waited in the living room while she changed Sheila into a nightgown, and she made sure to leave her as warm and dry as possible. It felt oddly familiar, the whole process, and she wondered if she had ever been a caretaker in her previous life. It didn’t fit her image of who she had been, however, so she elected not to think about it too much.

She headed to the laundry room and removed the jacket from around her arm, hissing as she peeled away the fabric that covered her wound. Thankfully, the blood had stopped. She threw it in the washing machine in mild disgust. Once she’d successfully gotten the laundry going, she walked through the door and into the bathroom. Her clothes had dried off a considerable amount by now, but after picking the twigs out of her damp hair, she decided to give her entire body a pass with the hairdryer. It made her hair look a bit frizzy, but at least she was dry.

She stepped out into the living room, where she found Stefan sitting on the couch. He looked to be deep in thought, but glanced up when he saw her.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” She lifted her arm. “You wanna take care of this?”

He nodded and stood. “Yeah. Good idea.” They met each other halfway, and she saw that his eyes were locked on her wound.

“So,” she blurted out. _Not a blood bag, not a blood bag._ “Sheila’s probably gonna be alright. That’s good.”

“Yeah,” he shook himself out of his trance and looked into her eyes. “I’m glad I could help. Uh, here,” his eyes changed before his fangs dropped, and he bit the inside of his wrist.

She shot him a grateful smile and gently grabbed his forearm. She brought it up to her mouth, and when she started sucking on the puncture wounds, her face twitched in surprise. He tasted different than Anna had. Her blood had tasted enough like that of a human’s, but it had also reminded her of that one time Grayson let Elena serve breakfast and she ended up pouring salt in the maple syrup. Stefan’s blood, however, tasted closer to honey. _I wonder if diet has anything to do with it._

She pulled away once her skin stitched itself back together. She wiped the excess blood from her mouth and sucked it off her fingers. “You know, that’s the third time I’ve done that today and it was no less weird than the other two.”

He smiled in amusement, and only when she looked up did she realize how close they were. She tried to hide her blush by letting go of his arm and walking towards the kitchen. “I’m gonna wash the blood away. I’m pretty sure there’s some alcohol in that,” she pointed, “cabinet. If you want it.”

She turned the faucet on, and Stefan raised his voice so she could hear him. “Are you sure she won’t mind?”

She squirted soap on her wrist. “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.” _Although it might hurt me when she inevitably figures it out._

She heard his chuckle, followed shortly by the sound of the cabinet door creaking open. She scrubbed away at the blood until all of it was down the drain and her skin was nice and pink. She grabbed a towel to pat herself dry. _Think that’s all of it._

She checked herself over one last time to make sure, and walked out into the living room. Stefan had found two glasses and was drinking from one of them.

“Hey,” she did a spin. “Am I blood-free?”

He nodded with a smile. “Blood-free.” He poured some whiskey into the empty glass. “Come celebrate your newfound cleanliness with some Maker’s Mark.”

 _I swear, everyone in this town is obsessed with bourbon._ She grinned and sat down beside him. “So, does this help? Thank you,” she took the glass.

“Does what help?”

She motioned towards the alcohol. “This. Does it help with your cravings?”

“Ah. Well,” he leaned back into the plush, beige sofa, “a little bit does. Too much, though, and I can’t control myself as easily. Which I guess is true for everyone.”

She hummed and brought the glass up to her lips. “That sucks.” She downed the whole thing in one shot and grimaced as it burnt her throat.

He looked at her oddly as she immediately went for a refill. “Yeah, it does. Are you okay?”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “I forced you to get on the path to becoming your worst self and you’re asking me if _I’m_ okay?”

He made a face that said “you’ve got a point.” He cleared his throat. “Well… I say that asking myself if I’m okay can wait until tomorrow.”

She snorted and joined him in being swallowed by the couch. “Cheers to that.” They clinked their glasses together and took a sip. She cocked her head in thought. “Hey, can I ask you something?” She waited until he made an affirmative noise. “Do you really believe me? About the whole… reincarnation thing? Or are you just humoring me?”

He was silent for a bit. “You want the truth, right?” She nodded. “Truth is… I don’t know. I’m going to have to look into it before I can pass any judgment. It _is_ a bit spooky how you know so much, though.”

Her eyebrows rose in amusement as she kicked off her sneakers. “I’ve never been called spooky before.”

He chuckled and followed suit, taking off his loafers and getting more comfortable. “Well, you are. Very spooky.”

She grinned and took another sip. “Since I’m already very spooky… I suppose there’s no harm in me suggesting you call Lexi, is there?”

That caught him off-guard. “You know about her?”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course I know about her, Stef. She’s a giant part of your life.”

He teasingly scrunched his nose up. “See? Spooky.”

She made an indignant noise through her laughter, and when she pushed at his shoulder, he chuckled along. “Oh, shut up.”

He spoke after her giggles had died down. “Can I ask you something, too?”

Her smile softened. “Of course.”

“Why haven’t you killed Damon yet? I mean, you said that he threatened you multiple times, and if you’re essentially all-knowing, you must’ve known that Katherine wasn’t in the tomb in the first place. Why help him?”

She felt her eyes glaze over before she sighed and focused back on him. Her voice was quiet when she spoke. “For you.” His face went slack. “For both of you. For your relationship.” She shrugged small. “I wanted to give you two a shot at being brothers again. You deserve it. Both of you.” She bit her lip to try and suppress her smile. “Even if you’re terrible at handling human blood and Damon’s an asshole.”

He grinned. “He _is_ an asshole, isn’t he?”

She giggled and moved so that her feet were on the sofa. “Oh, _God…_ I’ve barely talked to him for an hour total and I already wanna punch him in the throat.” That drew a laugh from him, deep and genuine, and she felt a silly amount of pride at having caused it.

He raised his glass. “Cheers to that, too.” He went for a refill and she quickly downed the rest of her drink. Her knees had gotten numb after her initial shot, but now she could feel herself becoming forward.

“Here,” she held her glass out towards him. “I want more, too.”

He paused and looked between her and the bottle contemplatively. Her glass was gently pried from her fingers and set down on the coffee table. He brought the bottle up to his lips, and she couldn’t keep the curl of her lips from turning devious.

“Sheila’s gonna kill me.”

“Do you really care?” He was smiling at her, eyes full of mischief.

“Not one bit.” He passed the bottle to her and she drank from it without hesitation. “Let’s see… In the span of one day, Damon murdered Tanner in front of my eyes, my pacifist sister said she wants to become a vampire hunter – er, not for vampires like you, don’t worry – Emily Bennett came back to life and cracked my spine against a tree, I thought you died, twice, I thought Damon was going to kill me and every human being within a five-mile radius, _and_ I ruined my favorite pair of jeans.” She took the bottle back as soon as he pulled it away from his lips. “I just want to relax. And… maybe take a shower.”

He hummed and let the side of his head fall against the sofa. “Bath’s better for relaxing.”

She looked at him like he was the messiah. “Bath…” He grabbed the bottle, but her hand remained in place. “Good idea.” She noticed that they’d drunk nearly half the bottle and pushed it back towards him when he went to give it to her. “Is this what you call a _little_ alcohol?”

“Hey,” he pointed an accusatory finger at her, though there was no real heat behind it. _“You_ want to relax. Why can’t _I_ want to relax?”

“Ummm,” she pointed a finger right back at him, “because _I_ don’t need the Ripper of Monterey running around just when things are beginning to look up again.”

“Oh, come on,” he threw his head back, “I’m not gonna murder the whole town just because I drank a little blood.” She looked at him sternly, and he huffed. “I mean, yeah, alright, fine, you were delicious and I’ve hardly been able to think about anything other than tasting you again,” she found it ridiculous how that made her heart flutter, “but it’s still controllable at this stage. I’ll call Lexi, like you said.”

“Oh, wow,” she breathed, “don’t let Elena hear you called me delicious.”

“And that’s another thing,” the finger was back. “Why are you so obsessed with me and Elena together?”

Her eyes widened in indignation. “Oh, why am I obsessed with you and Elena together?” She moved so that she was sitting upright, on her legs, and Stefan matched her alert posture. “Because you’re meant to _be_ together! That was the whole point! You’re the Yin to her Yang, there’s even a whole damn prophecy about it! It’s _destiny._ Not _my_ fault Julie Plec has a hard-on for bad boys.”

“Julie Plec?”

She pressed a finger against his lips and glared. She had worked herself up now. “And who does she think she is, huh, teasing us with Klaroline so damn much and never following through? Like, God, I’m sorry, but canon Tyler was _so_ not worth it. And like, I get that she didn’t wanna leave her whole life behind just for some… _dude_ she met practically yesterday, but-” He pressed a finger against her lips, effectively shutting her up. He looked like he was trying not to laugh as he gently grabbed her wrist and moved her hand away from his mouth.

“You do realize I have no idea what you’re talking about, right?”

She deflated instantly. He moved his finger away when he saw that she’d calmed down, though his hand remained wrapped around her wrist.

“Sorry,” she muttered bashfully.

“So… assuming the last few minutes weren’t a fever dream,” she interrupted him with a giggle, “what I got from that was that… Elena and I are meant to be together?”

She nodded firmly. “Yes. Absolutely.”

He hummed. “Because of a prophecy.”

“Well… I mean, sure, that’s _part_ of it, but you’re also perfect for each other as people.”

“Ohhh, I see. And so you see it as your responsibility to get us together.”

“I-I mean, not my _responsibility,_ but I definitely want it to happen.”

He cocked his head, and she only realized he’d been rubbing circles over her pulse point when he stopped. “Do you?”

She swallowed at how close they’d gotten. “Yeah, of course.”

He stared at her intensely, and she very nearly forgot how to breathe. When he spoke, his voice was soft. “Do you want to know why I don’t think you’re crazy?”

She blinked at the whiplash the sudden change of topic gave her, but quickly recovered. “Yeah. Of course.”

“Because in order to survive for one-hundred-sixty-one years in a world as cruel as this one, I’ve had to learn to read people. You seem to genuinely believe your story, and so far, you seem like the farthest thing from unstable.”

She continued staring at him in confusion. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Every time you’ve mentioned me and Elena, it feels more like you’re trying to convince yourself that we’re perfect for each other. Not like you already believe it.”

Her heart skipped a beat. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing would come out.

“So if you want to prove me wrong,” she became all too aware of his breath fanning her lips, and she wasn’t sure if the reason she felt numb and tingly all over was the alcohol, “if you truly believe that she and I are meant to be together, I want you to stop me from kissing you right now.”

Then, she really did forget how to breathe. She even forgot how to think, for a moment. But then, her mind became a battlefield.

 _What is wrong with you?_ some strong, rational part of her hissed. _Push him away, this’ll ruin everything._

 _It’s not like I’m coming on to him, _replied her pounding heart. _He’s coming on to me. He’s attracted to me, and I’m attracted to him._

_Oh, my God, you’re drunk! Both of you! And, what, you think Elena won’t find out? You think this won’t crush her? The first good thing that happened to her since the murder and you’re stealing it from right beneath her fingerti-_

She took too long.

His mouth attacked hers like a snake.

**ooo**

She automatically wrapped a fist in his black button-up, and she barely registered the groan he made when she pulled him closer to her, but when she did, she knew she had to hear it again.

She felt his tongue lick at her lips, and she pulled away as much as she could with his hand cradling the back of her head. His eyes looked almost as hungry as they had when she’d fed him her blood, and damn if the sight didn’t do something to her. She pushed him, and she must’ve caught him off-guard, because he let go of her and fell against the back of the sofa with a grunt.

Before he could react, she climbed on top of him, legs on either side of his thighs, and brought him into a feral kiss. That made him groan again, and the sound had her smiling in satisfaction. He wrapped both his arms around her waist, and she couldn’t recall ever having felt smaller in a more pleasant way. She nipped at his lower lip and he let it fall open immediately.

God, how long had it been since she’d kissed somebody like this? Seventeen years, at the very least. She sucked on his tongue at the same time as she tugged on his hair, and this time he _growled._ She let out a moan of approval. _That’s more like it._ She could feel him begin to stiffen beneath her, and it took everything she had not to grind her hips down into him.

She hadn’t been paying attention, and she gasped when he wrapped a fist in her hair and pulled her head back, just roughly enough to be pleasant. He attacked her neck like a man possessed, licking and sucking and nipping until she was breathless and positive that she would need to buy more concealer tomorrow.

He sucked at the dip between her collarbones a bit too roughly, and she jolted with a squeak. The arm that didn’t have its hand in her hair still held her firmly against him, and he bucked into her as she accidentally stimulated him. That made her moan. Loud. He moved her head so she could see him – or maybe it was so he could see her – and she saw the veins beneath his eyes beginning to darken. For some reason, that just made her want him more.

“God,” she panted, “you’re gorgeous.”

He groaned and brought her in for another kiss. She cradled his jaw with one hand and kept the other tangled in his hair, hoping that she was making him feel as trapped as he made her feel. He might have been the vampire with a thirst for blood, but she wanted to completely consume him.

She pulled back to push his jacket off his shoulders, but he barely let her leave his lips, stealing kisses whenever he could. Eventually, the jacket was flung somewhere across the room, and his mouth attacked hers with renewed vigor. She squeaked as the world spun, and when she opened her eyes, she found herself lying beneath him, his arms still wrapped around her. He bucked into her with a low moan.

“We should-” a nip at her throat made her gasp. “Bonnie’s room.”

He came up to kiss her one last time before he pulled away. It seemed physically painful for him to do so. “Where?” His voice was rough and hoarse, and she whimpered at the stab of arousal that hit her stomach.

“Across from Sheila’s.” The world spun again, and she had to close her eyes so she wouldn’t get nauseous. She felt herself get thrown onto a bed, and instinctively clutched onto the duvet so as not to fall off. Her eyes opened and she saw Stefan quickly shut and lock the door. He turned to look at her hungrily, and next thing she knew, he was back on top of her.

She wanted to feel his skin. She started unbuttoning his shirt, and he must have gotten impatient when she fumbled one too many times, because he pulled away to rip it off. Thankfully, no buttons pelted her. She nearly salivated at the sculpted muscles that lay beneath, but she settled for bringing her hands up to press against them. She saw his stomach clench, and _Christ. I did that, didn’t I?_ The thick fabric of his jeans did leave a bit to the imagination, but even so, she could clearly see the effect their make-out session had on him.

She hadn’t realized she’d been biting her lip until his thumb came up to pry it free. They locked eyes, and she could only hope that she looked as ready to devour him as he did her.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered, and she was beginning to feel faint from all the blood in her body rushing to one spot.

She wanted to pull him down by his shirt, but it was no longer there, so she decided to improvise. She hooked her fingers into the waistband of his jeans and pulled herself up against him. She pressed a kiss onto his skin, and then another when his mouth dropped open.

“Lie down,” she breathed, and saw his stomach clench again. He did as he was told, but kept himself raised up on his elbows, never once taking his eyes off of her.

She took off her red, sweetheart neckline blouse and shimmied out of those ruined jeans as quickly as humanly possible. His fingers twitched, and she wondered just how much she would give to know what was going through his head. She thanked Caroline’s perfectionist nature for drilling into her the habit of only buying underwear that matched her bra.

She started crawling towards him, and she could see the smirk that played on his open mouth. She bent down, trying to make herself look as appealing as possible, and licked a stripe up his abdomen. That wiped the smirk right off his face. His head fell back and he sighed, only to gasp and look back down when she squeezed the outline of his cock.

With a smirk of her own, she started unbuttoning his jeans, and he laid himself down fully. He raised his hips to help her pull them down his legs, and her eyes widened in delight at the sight of the wet patch seeping through his boxers.

“Mm…” she bit her lip. “Did I do that?”

He chuckled breathlessly. “Of course you did.”

Her smirk turned into a devious smile and she lowered her mouth to hover over him. “Good,” she whispered, and sucked at the wetness. Or rather, at what lay beneath.

He let out a harsh, surprised moan, and instinctively moved to tangle a hand in her hair. She sucked again and gently kneaded at where his base must have been, and his breaths started turning into quiet pants. She looked up to see him staring at her with his mouth fallen open and his face contorted in a lovely mixture of pleasure and need, and she couldn’t help but moan at the sight. She wanted to make him completely lose control.

The vibrations her moan caused made his hips buck, and she placed a palm against his abdomen to keep him still. She knew that it was useless, that he could easily do anything he wanted, but she enjoyed the false sense of authority she held over him.

She teased him through his underwear until the wet patch grew to cover the entire length of his cock, though most of it was caused by her saliva rather than his own pre-cum.

“Angie,” he groaned. He was still flat on his back, and didn’t bother lifting his head up to look at her. She hummed inquisitively, tongue against his barely-covered manhood, and she smiled when she felt it jump. “Stop teasing.”

She lifted herself up on her knuckles to look at him with a pout. “But you’re fun to tease.”

His expression was bordering on dangerous. “You’ll stop teasing me if you don’t want me to fuck you until the bed breaks.”

She didn’t think it was possible for her to become more aroused, but he proved her completely wrong. Her breath got caught in her throat and she rubbed her thighs together to provide some amount of relief, but that only made things worse. Her voice was high and needy when she spoke. “Can’t you just do that anyway?”

He growled, and before she realized what was happening, she was beneath him, face pressed against the mattress and ass high in the air. She turned her head so she wouldn’t suffocate, and caught a glimpse of him before he tore her underwear clean off. She gasped at the cool air that hit her throbbing cunt.

He groaned at the sight, quickly unclasping and throwing her bra off to the side. His arms came down to support himself as he leaned over her, and she whimpered when his hot breath hit her ear. “Careful making noise,” he whispered roughly, making her shiver. “Wouldn’t wanna wake her up.”

She did her best to nod, but her mouth fell open in a gasp when she felt two of his fingers running up and down her slit. She squeaked when he grazed her clitoris, and he chuckled darkly.

“You know,” his mouth was still hovering over her ear, “I wonder how long I can tease you until you break.” She let out a whine of displeasure at the thought and closed her eyes. “Fortunately,” he pulled his fingers away from her, “I’m too impatient for that right now.”

She felt a breeze hit her back before her eyes flew open at the feeling of his cock prodding at her entrance. _Vampire speed is no joke._

She looked back at him and whimpered at how absolutely predatory he looked. His eyes were red, the veins beneath dark and prominent, and he had to keep his lips parted so his fangs wouldn’t pierce his gums.

Her mouth fell open in a silent moan when he slowly started pushing himself in. He would be Angela Gilbert’s first time, technically, though she was far too wet for it to hurt any. She had to actively keep herself from clenching around him.

Once he was all the way in, he stilled and let out a throaty groan. “God, you’re tight,” he panted. All she could do was whine in pleasure and wonder if, in her previous life, she had ever been with anybody as big as him. He came to lean over her again, and supported himself on his forearms. “You okay?”

She nodded vigorously. She was more than okay. “More.” Her voice was high and needy again, and it made him groan with desire.

He started rocking his hips back and forth, and she did her best to try and quiet her moans, but it proved to be one of the hardest things she’s ever had to do. The task became even more difficult when he picked up the pace, and the only thing louder than skin hitting skin was the sound of their moans so close to her ears.

Her hands clawed and pulled at the duvet that she would definitely need to change before Sheila woke up, and when he hit that spot inside of her that made her see stars, nothing could have stopped the cry that ripped from her throat. He snarled and covered her mouth with the palm of his hand, and it all felt terribly, wonderfully erotic.

She had a sudden moment of clarity, where she realized just how horrible what they were doing was.

They were fucking each other in one of her closest friends’ bed, across from the room where the woman who had quickly become her mother figure was sleeping off her battle wounds. The battle wounds that _she_ had caused. They were fucking each other while Elena, a girl she loved more than most of the people on this earth, was likely getting ready for bed after worrying her head off for the safety of her beloved sister; the sister that was currently fucking the man Elena was well on her way to falling hopelessly in love with.

She realized it was horrible. She realized it was far, far beyond atrocious.

But as he brought a hand down to circle her clit, she just couldn’t bring herself to care.

She couldn’t say how long it was before an orgasm shook her body from crown to toenail, but she knew that she never wanted it to end. At some point during the bright, white light that filled her vision, she felt Stefan’s hips stutter as he let out a loud, broken moan. She felt his warm, sticky seed fill her up, and then he collapsed on top of her as gently as he possibly could.

**ooo**

Their breaths were loud and made her almost uncomfortably hot as they mingled near her face. Eventually, after some time spent in peace, Stefan fell next to her with a grunt. She didn’t bother following suit, choosing instead to catch her breath.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she forced herself to flop onto her side so she could see him properly. He was looking ahead of him, at the ceiling, while his chest rose and fell harshly. When he caught wind of her staring at him, he turned his head in her direction. He went to open his mouth, but she placed a finger on his lips.

She gave a tired, weary smile. “Let’s talk tomorrow. Okay?”

He nodded. His voice was quiet. “Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanna scream.
> 
> EDITED 10/06/2020: I remembered that the whole reason for the contract in the first place was so that Damon wouldn't hurt anyone Angela cared about. Like... ever. So now, instead of him threatening to kill her (because he can't, since his end of the contract is indefinite) he instead threatens to murder everyone in the town except for the people she put on the "do not touch" list.


	7. ICU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT: I realized there was a consistency error last chapter, so I'd advise you go back and check the notes at the end of it for a summary of what I changed.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

**CHAPTER 6**

_**ICU** _

She hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep in months.

Ever since her parents’ murder, whenever she dreamt, she dreamt of death, and illness, and other terrible things. There was a recurring nightmare that she had, wherein she relived entering her mother and father’s bedroom on May 23rd. In her dream, her father’s eyeless head would turn towards her with a sick snap and his mouth would stretch open until it hit the floor. From it, blood and insects would rush forth like a river from hell. Her mother would rise, neck twisted back, and stagger to her with open arms. _“My angel,”_ she would say, and her voice would be haunting. _“I’m so proud of you. Look at what you’ve done.”_ The first time she had it was back when they were living with the Forbes’, and she had barely made it to the bathroom in time to vomit.

But last night had been different. Last night, she’d dreamt of snow.

Following the murder, she often found herself remembering the winters they’d spend in Colorado. She found herself remembering the snowball fights she would have with her family and drinking hot cocoa by the fireplace where she knew that she was safe and warm.

Where she knew that everyone was alive.

The reason they went to Colorado in the first place was so they could experience the snow properly, in the mountains. Since then, it had become a thing of solace for her. The snow owned a mansion inside her mind that she could enter when she needed to escape. A mansion she had entered last night.

The calm respite it had provided, however, sharpened into ice, and it must have managed to tear a hole and escape through her brain, because the pain she woke to was something fierce and unwavering. She went to massage her temple in an effort to provide some relief, but froze when she felt the bed shift behind her.

She and Elena slept in twin-sized beds. She knew, because Elena had rolled her eyes and left the room when she and Grayson had made the tenth joke about it. And sure, neither of them could be described as being particularly big, but there shouldn’t be this much space left between them if they were sleeping in the same twin-sized bed, should there?

But then it hit her. She wasn’t in her bed. She wasn’t in Elena’s bed. She wasn’t even at home. _Tanner… the tomb… Sheila…_ Her heart gave a great, big thump of panic. _Stefan._ She had slept with Stefan. In Bonnie’s bed. In Bonnie’s room. In Sheila’s house. And the only thing that made her feel worse than the fact that she had completely betrayed her sister’s trust was the fact that it had been incredible.

She decided to test her luck and blinked her eyes open, only to immediately squeeze them shut in pain. _I need to turn onto my back. There’s no window on the ceiling._ But turning onto her back meant seeing _him_ out the corner of her eye, which meant feeling like an even bigger piece of shit than she already did. _Be an adult about this. It’d be better to get it over with quickly and you know that._ Reluctantly, she rolled over slowly enough to where her head didn’t feel like exploding.

Opening her eyes didn’t hurt nearly as much this time, but seeing his bare skin there, just to her right, made her want to close them again. She brought her hands up to cover her face. _God, what the hell is wrong with me?_ Sure, she’d had plenty of alcohol beforehand, but she knew that was no excuse. Not when before she was Angela Gilbert this was something she would have done sober and without remorse.

She hesitantly turned her head in his direction. He was still asleep, and she didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed. On the one hand, she didn’t immediately have to deal with the consequences of her actions. On the other, however, she didn’t enjoy the anticipation that came with dragging this out longer than she had to. But he looked almost heartbreakingly peaceful, she thought, and she didn’t want to be the one to disturb him.

She bit her lip. _He’s asleep, right? I can just get up and go to the bathroom. Maybe the sound of the shower will wake him up and I won’t have to make the first move._ But what if he wasn’t truly asleep? What if he was only pretending to be so he could play along with however she reacted? What if he regretted it, too? Though it made her a hypocrite, she couldn’t help how much that last possibility hurt her.

Her eyes scanned what they could see of the room. Her muddy jeans were by the desk beneath the painful-to-look-at window and her blouse was almost within arm’s reach, but she couldn’t see her undergarments anywhere. _I can put my shirt back on and then sprint to the jeans. It shouldn’t be too difficult, should it?_ She inched her body to the left until she could reach down and grab the blouse. It was crumpled and needed to be ironed, but it would do for now. Quietly, she slipped it over her head and glanced to the right. _Still asleep._

The desk was approximately ten feet away. _I’m 5’4”. Tyler said that people's legs take up about half their height, so that’s… how much, 2’6”? No. 2’7”. How much is 10 divided by 2.7?_

Fuck, she was too hungover for this.

_Okay. Let’s round it up. 3 times 3 is 9. That means it’s gonna take me about four paces to get to the desk. Four big, silent paces. I can manage that, can’t I?_

She never thought she would be using the things she learned during her drawing lessons in order to semi-ditch a guy she slept with while drunk, but here she was, doing exactly that. Though he wasn’t just any guy, was he? He was Stefan Salvatore. Not the fictional character played by an actor. The real, actual Stefan Salvatore. The real, actual Stefan Salvatore who had really, actually been born in the 1800s and was a real, actual vampire and had really, actually slept with her last night. Every now and then she wanted to laugh and cry like a madwoman at how utterly absurd her life had become.

She’d been staring at him, she realized, but how could she not? If she thought that he was gorgeous before, now, as rays of early morning light slipped through the blinds and made his skin glow gold, he looked like Apollo reborn. But even if he was thin as a stick and hideous, she knew that she would be just as attracted to him as she was at that very moment. Because he was kind, and had a strong, innate desire to do good, and a wicked sense of humor when he wanted to, and their chemistry last night had been amazing, and _oh my God stop it, you lovesick fool._

Was that what this was? Love? No. This was a puppy crush. That’s all it could be. That’s all she would allow it to be. The alternative was far too dangerous.

Four paces. She made herself sit upright and winced when it felt like needles pierced her head. As quietly and painlessly as she could, she slid her legs out from beneath the duvet and turned to see if she’d disturbed him. His eyes were still closed and his breathing pattern hadn’t changed, so she assumed she hadn’t.

Slowly, she pushed herself up and crossed the room, hand held up to block the painful sun from her eyes. In the end, it took her three big paces and one small one to reach the desk. Not a bad estimate, she thought, for feeling as terrible as she did. She turned to keep an eye on him as she clumsily put her jeans back on. She was glad that the blinds were lowered; else she would have given any passersby quite the show.

 _Okay. The bathroom is all the way out the door and to the right. Can I make that, too?_ She subconsciously shook her head and sucked a breath in when it hurt. _It doesn’t matter if I can make it. I’m not naked anymore. Even if he sees me, it won’t be that big a deal. It’ll just be awkward as hell._ But it would be awkward as hell either way, wouldn’t it? God, she wanted to throw something.

She just had to start walking or she’d remain paralyzed in place. _One foot in front of the other._ One foot in front of the other, and before she knew it she would be in the bathroom. She was nearly at the door when a piece of black fabric caught her eye. _My bra._ She saw it by the foot of the bed, on the side where Stefan was sleeping. She spotted his clothes as well, though her underwear was nowhere in sight.

It wasn’t like it would be of much use to her, considering what he’d done to it, but it wouldn’t do to leave behind any evidence. She resolved to look for it after he had gone. Her bra _would_ be quite useful though, so she bent down to grab it.

With one final glance back at him, she slipped into the hallway and was met by the light wood door that led to Sheila’s room. _I should check on her first._ Emily said there would be consequences to suffer, and she hadn’t forgotten it for a second. She needed to know if she was still alive, at the very least.

She seemed to be asleep, but it wouldn’t do to leave before confirming if she truly was alright. She went to her side and waited until her chest rose and fell. Unthinkingly, she touched her nose with the back of her fingers. _It’s warm. Her circulation’s normal. That’s good._

She blinked. _Why did I know to do that?_ She drew her hand back and felt her heart squeeze in an unfamiliar way. No, she realized, it wasn’t completely unfamiliar. It was the way it squeezed when she thought about how she would never be able to live a normal life; when she thought about how she’d never once left the country; when she thought about what in the world it was that she’d done last night.

She felt trapped, and had no idea why.

 _My head hurts too much for this shit._ She would psychoanalyze herself some other time. Right now, she needed to take a shower. She felt sticky with sweat and, if her hair looked frizzy before, she couldn’t imagine how it looked after sleeping with it down.

The warm water felt wonderful hitting her skin, and she did the best she could to keep her mind off of Stefan. _I need to go over to the motel today. And start preparing a monologue for the theater auditions on Monday. I should also introduce Anna to Aunt Jenna. She still holds the rights to Dad’s clinic, and if she thinks I’m good friends with Pearl’s daughter…_ She could only see benefits to helping Pearl open her apothecary back up.

She was a bit nervous about talking to her, seeing as she’d be the oldest vampire she’d have met so far, but she knew in her mind that unless she felt insulted or threatened in any way, she wouldn’t try to hurt her. Her largest cause for concern at the moment was the fact that she was Johnathan Gilbert’s descendent. She knew that Pearl had a dislike for people who shared his surname – not that she could particularly blame her – but she hoped that showing her she only wanted to help would be enough to keep herself safe.

After stepping out of the shower and drying her body off, she put on her bra and hid it beneath a sage-colored robe. She did feel a bit bad for imposing, but she seriously doubted that Sheila would scold her for it, considering the circumstances. _Assuming she ever wakes up to scold me._ She grimaced. It wouldn’t do to think like that. She’d woken up just fine last night, in the car.

When she’d invited _Stefan_ in.

 _Well that didn’t take long, did it?_ She leaned against the sink and groaned. Suddenly, staying in the bathroom for the rest of eternity seemed like a reasonable option.

She glanced up at the mirror and registered how good she looked. The workout she had gotten last night and the great night of sleep which succeeded it had left her skin looking vibrant and glowing. She gave her reflection the happiest smile she could manage and nodded in satisfaction. Combined with the fact that she didn’t look nearly as bad as she felt, it should be enough to fool everyone.

She glanced at the hairdryer hanging from the wall. _Maybe the sound of the shower wasn’t enough to wake him up. I have to dry my hair anyway, right? This isn’t me being sneaky, it’s me being practical, right?_

_Right?_

She rolled her eyes. _Who am I kidding?_ She grabbed the dryer without so much as looking.

A short time later her task was finished, and she was pacing back and forth, trying desperately to think of a good reason to not leave the room. _Maybe I passed out. Maybe I’m vomiting from all the alcohol. I rarely ever get drunk, after all. Maybe I have a fever. Maybe… maybe I’m just a big fucking coward._ She snorted. There was no _maybe_ about that one.

Her stomach rumbled. There was no _maybe_ about the fact that she was starving, either. She could practically smell the bacon and eggs already. It was when she registered the faint sound of something sizzling that she realized she wasn’t imagining it at all. _Is he seriously cooking me breakfast?_ An invisible knife stabbed her insides. _God, like I_ _needed another reason to feel guilty._ She shook her head to punish herself with the pain. _Well now I can’t be a coward, can I? It wouldn’t be fair to him._

The sound of sizzling became significantly stronger when she was in the hallway, and so did the smell. It was almost enough to make her nauseous, though that might have been more due to the guilt. She padded over to the living room, but stopped before she could reach the kitchen. She needed a moment to steel herself. She took a deep, quiet breath, and forced herself to keep moving. _One foot in front of the other._

As soon as she caught a glimpse of him, however, all she could think of doing was running back into the bathroom and locking herself away forever. _Stop, stop, stop. You’re being stupid. And you’re overthinking. I’m sure it’s awkward for him, too. You were drunk and he knows that. There’s no way he, of all people, doesn’t feel guilty about sleeping with you while in that state. He practically invented guilt. Maybe he actually did. He’s definitely old enough._ The thought was just humorous enough to make her smile. _There we go. Just start walking. One foot in front of the other, remember?_

Yes, she remembered. And she did exactly that until she was in the kitchen. The stove was on her right-hand side, which meant that he could see her as soon as she could see him. He froze before turning his head to look at her, and she did her best to keep her expression neutral. Neutral, and not deterrent. Neutral, and not inviting. Neutral, and not enough to give him any insight as to how she felt.

“Hey.”

He was trying to look neutral too. “Hey.”

There was a long pause before she motioned towards the pan. “You didn’t have to do that, you know…”

He swallowed and shook his head. “It’s the least I could do.”

“What do you mean?”

He didn’t answer, choosing instead to grab a plate and begin serving her breakfast. He set it down on the small, circular table. “Eat, please.”

Eyeing him carefully, she crossed the room and sat down. He filled two mugs with coffee. “How do you take it?”

“Um… black’s fine.”

Wordlessly, he placed one of the mugs next to her plate before sitting down across from her. His eyes seemed to be avoiding hers, even as she continued to stare at him. He busied himself by taking a sip of coffee, and then another, and another, until he realized she wasn’t doing anything.

He paused and looked at her in what seemed like concern. “Are you not hungry?”

A breathless laugh escaped her lips. “ _What_?”

He set his mug down as a look of intense guilt crossed his face. “I… Angie, I can’t even begin to apologize.”

“For what, exactly?”

“For taking advantage of you.”

 _I was right._ She sighed and leaned back in her seat. “You didn’t.”

“Yes, I did. You were drunk.”

“So were you. Besides-” She cut herself off. There was no way she could tell him about what she remembered of her previous self. Not when she couldn’t even bring herself to tell her own family.

“Besides what?”

“Besides,” she drew the word out to buy herself more time, “I wanted you before I was drunk.” _Of all the things you could’ve said, you chose the most embarrassing one?_ “B-but,” she hurried to add, “I never would’ve done anything about it. Because of Elena.” She let out a sharp, flustered breath. “Basically, what I’m trying to say is… don’t blame yourself too much. Okay? It was my fault, too.”

He was silent for a time. “It wasn’t just the alcohol. For me.”

Her heart stuttered. _He couldn’t possibly mean…_

“It was your blood, too.” Any butterflies she might have had died before they could be born. _Of course he doesn’t._ “The taste of it made me crave more. But when you said that the reason you were keeping Damon alive was so we could be brothers again, even after how despicably he’s treated you…” He shook his head. “I realized how unbelievably kind you must be. And the craving became… of a different kind.”

She watched as he traced the rim of his mug. “Oh.”

“So yeah, actually. I think I _should_ blame myself. Completely.”

“I don’t.” He scoffed, but she continued, “What I think is that you’re projecting how you feel about drinking human blood onto what we did.” She leaned forward and crossed her arms against the wooden table. “What _we_ did. Not what _you_ did.” She had to make him understand. “You think I don’t feel guilty when I know that my sister has feelings for you too? Of course I do. I feel like the scum of the earth and I don’t know how I’m gonna look her in the eye after this, but…” _But I can’t project either. It’s been over seventeen years and I’m not that person anymore._ “Neither of us can pretend that we acted with a clear head. Because we didn’t.”

Her chest felt lighter after saying that. Telling him how she felt and realizing she truly meant it helped put her own issue into perspective. It would be hypocritical of her to feel bad because of the person she’d once been. The situation was simple: she fucked up. And so did he. It would do neither of them any good to read into it too much.

Unfortunately, reading was one of Stefan’s favorite hobbies.

“ _Too_?”

She blinked. “What?”

He mirrored her posture, leaning forward against the table. “You said that Elena has feelings for me _too._ What do you mean by _too_?”

Her mind went blank in panic. _Keep digging that hole, won’t you? You’re gonna need it._ “Well I mean-” She spoke so quickly she choked on her own spit. His eyes widened as she brought a hand up to cover her coughing mouth, and he quickly offered her her untouched coffee mug. She grabbed it without question and downed half its contents before she felt confident in her ability to speak again. _Oh my God, you’re such an embarrassment._

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

She rubbed her temples, feeling as though her brain had been put through the blender. “No, no, it’s fine. I’m just…” _A mess._ “Don’t worry about it.”

“You sure?”

She couldn’t help but smile at his concern. “I’m sure. Pinky promise.”

His lips twitched upward. “Guess you really mean it then.”

“Are you using my own words against me?”

“They’re wise words.”

She chuckled, but immediately winced and brought her hands back up to her head. “Ugh… Wouldn’t happen to wanna give me any more blood, would you?”

“I would if it’d actually do anything. A headache’s not an injury; it’s just something that hurts. Luckily,” he stood, “we live in the twenty-first century. And aspirin exists.”

“That it does. Under the sink.”

He returned shortly, and she popped two tablets into her mouth, chasing them down with coffee. “Thank you.”

He nodded towards her plate. “You can thank me by eating. It’s getting cold.”

Though she was hungry, eating was just about the last thing she felt like doing. She decided to humor him, however, and was pleasantly surprised by the taste.

“Wow, that’s good. Like, really good.”

He smiled. “Is it?”

“Yeah. I didn’t realize that bacon and eggs could taste so… sophisticated? I think?”

His smile widened. “It’s the parsley, isn’t it?”

“Or maybe the fact that you’ve placed it all on top of bread.”

“How does that make it more sophisticated?”

“Well, it looks nice. It also offers a different experience since you get to eat a bit of everything at once.”

“Because people can’t do that otherwise.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Are you giving me sass?”

His smile had turned mischievous in a way that gave her butterflies. “Hey, you’re the one who force-fed me your blood. Now you get to deal with the consequences.”

That brought her back to the present, and she set her fork down. “Speaking of consequences… What do we do now?”

He crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat, inadvertently drawing her gaze down to his exposed forearms. Thankfully, though a few buttons on his shirt were missing, it wasn’t enough to where he may as well not have been wearing it. She absolutely could not afford to think about how all that muscle had been pressed up against her, pleasuring her, and receiving pleasure from her last night.

“What do you want to do?”

 _You._ She nearly laughed at the thought, and cleared her throat to cover it. “Well… I want to do what’s best for my sister. And something tells me that her knowing what we did together is not that.”

“So you want to forget this ever happened.”

“I mean… I wouldn’t put it _that_ way…”

“I know you wouldn’t. Because you’re a good person.”

She huffed. “Not really. I just try to be nice to the people I care about.”

He tilted his head. “So, who is it you care about then: me or Damon?”

The question caught her off-guard. “What?”

“You said you were keeping him alive for our relationship’s sake. But why would you care about our relationship unless you also cared about one of us?”

“I-I mean, I care about both of you, just…” She bit her lip, thinking of how to word it. “Okay. Say you know everything about a person. You know what their destiny would be if it never involved you. You’ve seen them at their best. You’ve seen them at their worst. You’ve seen what they’re like when they’re in love, and in mourning, and even how they used to be as a child, but they don’t know a single thing about you. That’s what it’s like for me with Damon. I care about him in theory, I want him to be happy _in theory_ , but I can’t care about him in practice. Not yet. Not when the thought of seeing him again only scares me. But you…” She gave a gentle shrug. “I’m able to care about you in practice as well.”

His head was tilted down in contemplation. “Is that what it’s like with everybody? You know everything about them even if they know nothing about you?”

“Not everybody, but… almost every person I willingly interact with.”

He seemed burdened by the very thought of it. “That sounds genuinely horrible.”

She felt a sad smile tug at her lips. “You know… I don’t think anyone’s ever told me that before.”

When he looked up at her, she felt her body go numb. There was a caring sheen to his green eyes that reminded her so very much of her mother. “How have you not gone insane yet?”

Her mind was assaulted by the memory of finding her parents on May 23rd. By the memory of eyes that had once looked so much like his, dead and staring through her. By the memory of what had happened after, and what kept on happening for four weeks. “Maybe,” she didn’t make herself speak, yet she could hear her voice, “I already have.”

He frowned. “I’ve upset you.” She hadn’t realized that a tear had slid down her cheek until he leaned over to wipe it away. “I’m sorry.”

She startled back. “No.” She swallowed to try and calm herself. “Don’t be. Please.” The sharp breath that escaped her was one of sour amusement. “See? I’m not a good person. We were talking about the good of my sister and I made it all about me. Maybe Damon’s the only one who treats me the way I deserve to be treated.”

“Don’t say that.”

Shame burned her like a brand. “You’re right. I’m sorry. You barely know me. I don’t want to burden you with my issues.”

He scoffed and grabbed her hands. She couldn’t help it. She flinched. She regretted doing so immediately, however, because it made him let them go. “Damon barely has any humanity left in him. He doesn’t treat you the way you deserve. He doesn’t treat _anyone_ the way they deserve. Don’t you ever trick yourself into thinking that he does.”

That didn’t make her feel much better. Not when she knew how incredibly human he could be. “You sound like you speak from experience.”

He gave a bitter smile. “A century’s worth. You’re not the only one in the room with a guilty conscience.”

He was right. Here she was, complaining about Damon being a little mean to her, when Stefan had been promised an eternity of misery by him; when he would have experienced enough misery without his help to begin with.

“You’re incredibly strong, you know.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Strong.” It was more a statement than a question, and she found his disbelief endearing.

“To keep going. To keep doing your best to be kind despite everything you’ve been through. I admire that about you. A lot.”

He looked as though he was trying to remember something. “I… I don’t think anyone’s ever told me that before, either.”

A strange emotion bloomed in her chest, though it was far from unpleasant. “Well I’d hate to be predictable.”

“Trust me. If there’s one thing you’re not, it’s predictable.”

She grinned. “What, you mean you don’t get to speak to an alien from an alternate universe every day?”

He gave her a gentle smile and shook his head. “I don’t get to speak to someone without pretense every day. It’s refreshing.”

She put her finger on what the emotion in her chest was. It was affection.

She felt genuine affection towards him. Not the shallow kind of affection she’d felt before, but the deeper kind that came from realizing just how similar you were to somebody. A thought struck her, however, and she couldn’t help but laugh. “Wow. This is probably the deepest conversation I’ve ever had the morning after.”

“You know what? I think it’s the deepest conversation I’ve had, too.”

She cleared her throat. “Speaking of… Are we still pretending this never happened? You do care about Elena, don’t you?”

He nodded his head to the side. “I do.” Hearing that didn’t hurt. She didn’t care what he felt for her sister, she realized, so long as feeling it made him happy. “And if that’s what you want, I’ll respect it.”

“Is it not what you want?”

“What I want is for you to not feel uncomfortable. And I don’t want Elena to feel uncomfortable either.” He shrugged. “You’re her sister. You know how to prevent her feeling that way better than I do.”

“I think that would be the best way. Besides, it’s not like you cheated on her or anything. That’d be a whole other story.” And one she never wanted to think about.

He nodded. “Then that’s what we’ll do.”

She stood with a nod of her own. “Then that’s what we’ll do. Now, we should get ready for school.”

“Are you not going to finish your food?”

“I can just eat extra during lunch.”

“And insult my cooking in addition to waking me up?” he asked teasingly. “That shower you took was almost suspiciously loud.”

She felt heat flood her face. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I’m sure you don’t.”

They silently stared at each other until she huffed and sat back down. “Oh, okay, fine. I’ll eat your food.”

“My _sophisticated_ food.” He raised a brow. “Wise words.”

She nearly flung a slice of bacon at him.

Before Stefan left the house, she had him check on Sheila with his heightened senses. He said that, as far as he could tell, she was merely sound asleep. Her heartbeat was normal, as was her temperature, and Angela decided it was time to start getting ready. Worrying wouldn’t do her any good when there was nothing to be done about it.

Digging her cell phone out of her bag, she saw that Caroline had tried calling her at around 10 o’clock last night, but decided to talk to her after she’d gotten dressed. She scrolled over to her contacts and dialed Bonnie’s number. It took a couple rings for her to pick up, and when she did, she sounded like she was trying not to panic.

_“Hey! Is Grams okay?”_

“Whoa, hey, she’s fine.” There was a sigh of relief so genuine it made yesterday feel all the more worth it. “I was just calling to ask if I could borrow an outfit. I don’t know if you saw the storm last night, but everything but my bra is pretty much ruined.” She neglected to mention that the reason one garment in particular was ruined was not, in fact, because of the storm.

She let out a breathless laugh. _“Geez, you gave me a heart attack for that? Of course, Ann, take anything you want.”_

They resolved to talk about what happened at the tomb during lunch, with the rest of the group, and Bonnie thanked her for staying with Sheila in her stead. They hung up, and Angela made her way over to the bedroom. She regarded the contents of the closet carefully.

While she was a bit curvier than Bonnie, they weren’t too dissimilar in size, and after slipping into a pair of underwear just bland enough she doubted it’d be missed, she put on a black, lacy tank top that she couldn’t recall ever having seen before. She tucked it into the waistband of some light blue jeans and chose a heavy, pink cardigan that she thought completed the look.

She stripped the mattress, trying not to think about anything she had done on it, and dumped everything into the laundry basket. As quickly as she could, she dressed the bed before grabbing her bag and walking to the bathroom. She checked the time and, seeing as she still had plenty to spare, decided to call Caroline and put her on speakerphone while she did her makeup.

 _“Hey! Oh my God, my mom told me about Tanner, and I called Elena, and she said that-”_ She cut herself off and began whispering. _“She said that Damon killed him right in front of you! Are you doing okay?”_

She examined the hickeys on her neck. “Define _okay_.”

_“Ugh, see, this is why I said I’d never let you out of my sight! I leave and five seconds later you’re witnessing a murder? God, what is wrong with me?”_

She took the concealer and powder out of her bag and went to work on covering them. “You can’t blame yourself for that and you know it.”

_“I’ll blame myself for it all I want! You already have enough trauma built up for a lifetime, you don’t need any more.”_

“So what, are you gonna tail me like a puppy from now on? Actually, you know what? I always thought you’d make an absolutely adorable Cocker Spaniel.”

She hummed mockingly. _“God, you are so funny. Have I ever told you you should go into stand-up? You’d be great at it! I’m sure everyone would stand up and leave immediately.”_

“ _Ha!_ Wow, hey, just like every guy you talk to! What a coincidence.”

There was a loud, drawn-out gasp. _“That was low.”_

“You started it.”

 _“Unbelievable. You know, here I called you, worried out of my mind, and this is how you treat me?”_ She could hear the grin in her voice.

“If you didn’t like to suffer, you wouldn’t crave popularity so much.”

_“Popularity is an art. Not that I’d expect you to understand. Aren’t you, like, 50?”_

“Maybe I am. Who knows?” She sure didn’t.

_“Well, anyway, even if you could be my grandma, you should still be able to go on a shopping spree tonight. I need to get my fix before clubs start and the members of the Go Green campaign call me out for giving into consumerism.”_

“A shopping spree honestly sounds great right about now.” She moved onto covering the circles beneath her eyes.

_“Great! So, tell me, what happened with Douchebag yesterday?”_

“Douchebag?”

_“Yeah, you know. D for Damon. D for Douchebag. It works.”_

“Oh, I see. Well, that’s probably something that should be discussed during a group meeting. I’ll tell you all at lunch.”

_“Sure you can’t just tell me now? I’ll keep it a secret.”_

“Nice try.”

_“Ugh, you’re no fun. Elena would tell me… At least everything went fine, right?”_

“Sure did. I hope I didn’t worry you too much.”

 _“What, who, me? No, of course not, I just had to try and practice a cheerleading routine while imagining my best friend being murdered in the woods. Wasn’t worried at all.”_ She couldn’t have sounded more sarcastic if she tried.

“You know you couldn’t have come with.”

_“Oh, just let me yell at you.”_

She snorted. “Be my guest. Hey, by the way, would Elena also tell you that you’re still gonna have your Co-Captain this year?”

 _“What!?”_ There was the sound of something clattering to the floor. _“Oh my God, why didn’t she tell me!?”_

She smirked. “Oops, did she want to keep it a surprise? My bad. Just remember that you’re not supposed to know.”

_“Right! Of course! Ugh, God, that’s awesome! Does that mean you’re continuing theater?”_

“That’s the plan.” She put the products back into her bag and grabbed the liquid eyeliner.

Caroline squealed in excitement. _“Finally! Normal, human stuff! God, I can’t wait to go back to not worrying about you getting eaten all the time.”_

“I wouldn’t bet on that happening any time soon, Care-bear.”

_“Yeah, well, not with that attitude.”_

She chuckled and moved onto mascara. “You’re right. I’m sure everything will be fine if I’m just an optimist about it. Oh hey, um, speaking of not getting eaten… how would you feel about becoming my personal trainer?”

_“What?”_

“Yeah, I mean, you’re athletic and we work well together. I’d feel better going up against spooky scaries if I could do a pushup or two.”

 _“Spooky scaries?”_ she repeated mockingly. _“ That’s what we’re calling them?”_

“Would you prefer _dreadful dicks_?”

There was a pause. _“Good point. But yeah, sure! Why not? Does tomorrow morning work for you?”_

“Morning? _Saturday_ morning?”

_“Are you willing to show commitment or not?”_

She wanted to complain, but she knew that this was why she asked Caroline, specifically, to train her. She wouldn’t go easy on her like the rest of the group would. “Fine. Tomorrow morning. What time?”

_“Eight. My house. And you’re walking. Oh! No caffeine, either. Fresh-squeezed orange juice or water, take your pick.”_

She let out a whine. “Seriously?”

_“Seriously. And if you’re hungry, eat a bowl of oatmeal.”_

She couldn’t remove the disgust from her face. “Okay…”

_“Alright! I’m gonna go. See you at school?”_

“Looking forward to it,” she deadpanned and, as soon as they hung up, threw her head back with a groan.

Sheila was still asleep when she exited the house, but she’d left her with a glass of water, some aspirin, and her cell phone within arm’s reach. Most, but not all, of the blood had come off her jacket, and since she couldn’t find any hydrogen peroxide anywhere, she chucked it into the trunk along with all her other clothes.

She unlocked the driver’s seat, but her face dropped when she was greeted by the sight of mud on the seats. She slowly looked down at the clean pair of jeans she was wearing. “God. _Fucking_. Dammit.” Thankfully, the antibacterial wipes she still had saved Bonnie’s clothes from getting ruined as well, and she arrived to school only five minutes late.

Being five minutes late, however, meant that she barely made it in time to catch the end of Principal Torres’ speech. She heard her say something about love, and solidarity, and how there will be a memorial held for William Tanner on Monday, but her eyes were cold and distant. Whenever they looked in Angela’s direction, she couldn’t help but feel as though she was singling her out from the crowd and condemning her for what she’d done to him.

When everyone had been dismissed and the students started filing out of the auditorium, Elena caught wind of her presence. “Hey,” she greeted. “Are you doing okay?”

No, she wasn’t. The guilt that had been subdued by the conversations she’d had with Stefan and Caroline had come back in full force; first at hearing the principal speak about Tanner, and now at hearing her sister’s sweet, worried voice. She smiled nonetheless and said, “I’m doing alright. Did you manage to survive without me last night?”

Elena sighed and brought her into a warm hug. “Just about.” She pulled back, though her hands remained on her arms. “What happened with the tomb? I mean, I know you said that everything went fine, but…”

Angela gently shrugged her hands off, making her frown in concern. She didn’t care. Her touch was suffocating. “We’ll talk about it during lunch, with everyone else.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

No, she wasn’t. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be okay again. She breathed a laugh. “Yes, I am. I’m just a little tired. Promise. Now, tell me, is History gonna be a free period until they find a new teacher?”

Elena nodded. “They said it’ll be a free period today, out of respect, but that a substitute will take over on Monday. Unless they find someone to replace him over the weekend.”

Bonnie called her name, and she turned to see her trotting over to them. She looked bewildered. “Hey, is what Caroline said true? Did Damon do this?”

She had to keep herself from groaning. She’d forgotten that Bonnie didn’t know. “Yeah. Happened right in front of me.”

“Oh my God, and I’m just now finding out about it?”

“Honestly? I kind of just… didn’t want to talk about it. Caroline and Tyler found out from their moms and Elena. Not from me.”

Bonnie shot Elena a worried look that, for some reason, made her incredibly angry. _Look at me instead. Ask me if I’m okay. I know you want to. Don’t act like I’m not here._ She straightened up and gave them what she hoped was a bright smile. “Since it’s now a free period, I’m gonna go study for Chemistry, alright? See you later.”

“Wait-” She didn’t hear the rest of her sister’s sentence, as she pushed through the doors and made a beeline for her locker. Her hands shook as she tried to get the combination right over and over again, and she nearly slammed a fist into it out of frustration.

“Angie.” She turned her head to see that Elena had followed her. “Talk to me. What’s going on?”

She shut her eyes and took a steadying breath. _I need to calm down is what’s going on._ When she opened her eyes, she forced them to look kind. “Nothing’s going on, Elena. I just need to be alone for a bit. Okay?”

That didn’t seem to ease her worry. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”

 _“Okay then,”_ some horrible, resentful part of her wanted to say. _“Let me tell you everything. Let me tell you about how we’re adopted, and how our birth father is that uncle we hate. Let me tell you about how you look exactly like Stefan and Damon’s ex-girlfriend, who is also their psychotic sire and the reason they’re here in the first place._

_“Let me tell you about how you’re the key to breaking a curse that was put on an original vampire and has all but driven him insane during the one thousand years he’s been alive. Let me tell you about the fact that I know how to kill every single vampire on this earth and, if I really, truly wanted to, could have it done within the month. Let me tell you about-”_

Elena’s arms wrapping around her body broke her train of thought, and she realized she’d been crying. But then, the dam was broken, and there was nothing she could do to stop the tears from rushing down her cheeks. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was glad to have gotten to school so late. It meant that everyone had already grabbed their books and the hallways were barren.

“I’m sorry,” she sobbed, though she had no idea what to apologize for first. “I’m so, so sorry.”

She felt Elena shake her head against her shoulder. “You’re human. You’re allowed to break every now and then. Just promise me you won’t push me away.”

She nodded and squeezed her closer. “I promise.”

She couldn’t say exactly how long they stayed like that, but she quickly pulled back when she heard footsteps walking in their direction. It was a kid she believed to be a sophomore, and she turned her head away to wipe her eyes.

Elena huffed, grabbed her wrist, and dragged her into the girls’ restroom. She pushed the stall doors open one by one until she was sure they were alone, and then turned back to her with a gentle, amused smile. “There. Now you can cry without ruining your Ice Princess reputation.”

Angela laughed through the tears. She never meant to create that reputation for herself, and she personally found it to be quite ridiculous considering just how often she showed emotion, but she’d quickly found that her patience for most school children was all but non-existent.

“Thanks, twinny.” She grabbed some paper towels from the dispenser on the wall and cleared her nose. “Ugh, sorry for being gross.”

Elena shook her head from where she was leaning against one of the sinks. “All I care about is if you feel better.”

She took a deep breath, and smiled when it didn’t feel like a weight was pressing down on her chest. “I do.”

“Good. So,” she scrunched her nose in playful disgust, “do you still wanna study for Chemistry?”

“What do you mean she collapsed?” Bonnie’s hazel eyes were wide with fear.

Angela bit the inside of her cheek. “From what we could tell, she didn’t sustain any injuries when she hit the ground. She only exhausted herself.”

“Oh my God,” she pushed herself off the picnic table, “I have to go see her.”

“Hey, hey, hey.” Tyler grabbed her wrist, effectively stopping her in her tracks. “School will be over in two hours. If a vampire as old as… Anna?” Angela nodded. “Says there’s nothing wrong with her, I doubt you going over there right now will do anything.”

Bonnie looked at him in utter disbelief. “And how do we know that a vampire, of all things, was telling the truth? She’s my _grandmother_ , Tyler. I can’t just focus on schoolwork and pretend that everything’s fine.”

The news really must have shaken her, she thought, for her to refer to Sheila as her grandmother.

“She’s right,” said Caroline. “If something like that happened to my mom, I’d go home to her straight away.”

He huffed. “You always take her side.” Caroline shot him a look that made him grudgingly let go of their friend. “I’m just trying to be realistic here.”

Bonnie smiled. “And that’s one of my favorite things about you. But don’t act like you wouldn’t do the same thing.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” asked Elena.

She shook her head. “No, it’s fine. If I run into any issues, I’ll call you. Promise.” She shot them another smile, and they watched her walk away until she was out of sight.

Tyler blew a breath out his nose and looked at Angela. “So… you fought a ghost, huh? That’s pretty badass.”

She snorted. “Didn’t feel too badass when she broke my back.”

“Yeah, speaking of,” Elena crossed her arms, “I hope you realize you won’t be able to keep us out of the fray forever.”

Caroline slapped the table, causing them all to look at her. “Yes! Thank you. I’m tired of feeling useless.”

Angela frowned. “I never meant to make you feel that way.”

“Well obviously, but you still did. At least let me meet Douchebag so I can slap him in the face.”

“You, especially, are not going anywhere _near_ Douchebag.”

Tyler and Elena shared a confused glance, but it was her sister who spoke. “Douchebag?”

Angela rolled her eyes in amusement. “Damon.”

Caroline nodded. “Dickhead also works.”

Tyler’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Wow. It takes a special breed of asshole to make _you_ curse.”

“He traumatized Angie,” she said simply. “If that doesn’t count as a special breed, I don’t know what does.”

His jaw ticked. “Don’t remind me.”

“He didn’t _traumatize_ me,” said Angela, though it sounded hollow to her ears. “He just helped me realize what kind of world we live in. If he didn’t, someone else would have.”

“Are you serious?” Elena breathed. “As if you didn’t already realize that when you found-” She cut herself off, but Angela knew what she was going to say.

“When I found Mom and Dad? I never would’ve had to find them if I didn’t tell you about them in the first place. What happened to them was my fault, just like what happened to Tanner.”

“That’s bullshit.”

She snapped her head towards Tyler. “Excuse me?”

He looked close to furious. “I said that’s bullshit. And you know it. The only people who are at fault here are Damon and whoever killed your parents.”

She shook her head. “You don’t understand. Two times. Two times I tried to prevent death, and two times I made it worse than it would’ve been.” Her eyes settled on her sister. “Mom and Dad would’ve died in a car accident, close to painlessly. Jeremy would still be able to speak. Tanner wouldn’t have died so soon. And now, Sheila isn’t dead but she might as well be, because Emily said there’d be consequences and she hasn’t woken up yet and-”

Tyler jumped up and grabbed her by the shoulders so quickly she gasped. She suddenly became all too aware of how dark his hair was, and how olive-toned his skin was, and how hard his eyes had become, and she could have sworn she had legs just a second ago.

“Look at me. Look at me, and tell me that if I was saying the things you’re saying right now, you’d think I was right. Tell me that you’d blame me if my parents died right this moment because I could’ve been there to protect them. Tell me that you wouldn’t think of me as a victim. Tell me-”

She’d stopped listening. She’d stopped breathing. She’d stopped existing.

_Stop touching me. Stop touching me, stop touching me, stop touching me, stop touching me, stop touching me, Damon, stop touching me, stop touching me, stop touching me, stop touching me, Damon, stop touching me, stop touching me, sto_

“Angela.”

Elena’s voice brought her out of her stupor. She blinked, and found that there was nobody around but them.

There was something pressing against her back, and she whirled around to face it. She followed the brown bark up and up until she realized where they were: the oak tree behind the school.

“What…” Her voice was hoarse. “What just happened?”

The only other time she’d seen her sister so worried was right after she’d recovered from the shock in June. “You were having a panic attack.”

“…Oh.”

“Angie…” Elena bit her lip for a moment, as though debating something. “You don’t have to tell me, but… what exactly did Damon do to you?”

Her throat closed up, and she found it to be ridiculous. _He just threatened me a little. Killed someone he would’ve killed anyway. Why am I acting like this?_ Stefan’s words from earlier came back to her: _“Because you’re a good person.”_ Was this how good people reacted to things like this?

Elena’s eyes widened for some reason and she brought a hand up to cover her mouth. “Oh my God… Don’t tell me he…?”

She furrowed her brows in confusion. “What?”

“You know… he didn’t…” She swallowed and shot a pointed look towards her lower abdomen. “Did he?”

Angela felt her mouth drop in realization. “No! No, oh my God, no, of course not! Jesus Christ, Elena! No, he just… ugh, he has this thing for… wrapping a hand around my neck and threatening to kill me.”

Elena gave a sigh so heavy with relief it threw her against the tree. “Oh, God, so that’s what you meant by _stop touching me_.” She brought a hand up to her heart and tried to catch her breath. “Oh my God.” Laughter was bubbling inside of Angela, and she gave up on trying to hold it back. Elena smacked her arm, hard, with a teary-eyed glare. “It’s not funny! Do you have any idea the things that just crossed my mind?”

“I know, I know, I’m not laughing because it’s funny, I just-” She couldn’t stop. “I don’t know _why_ I’m laughing, actually.”

Elena just huffed and brought her in for another tight hug.

The motel looked different during the daytime.

Beneath the black night sky, its neon blue sign – which featured a horse blowing smoke from its nostrils – gave it an almost forbidden look. A look that made her want to go on a road trip with a stranger and end up there after a day of adventure. Beneath the sunlight, however, the American flag that stood beside it was the first thing that caught her eye. An older, portly, suited gentleman exited one of the rooms, hand-in-hand with who must have been his wife, and she thought that the whole scene was terribly suburban.

She knocked on the door labeled “14.” It didn’t take long for Anna to open it, and she greeted her with a nod. “Hey,” she motioned for her to enter, “come on in.”

Stepping inside, her eyes immediately found Harper, who was standing by what must have been the bathroom door. He looked much better than when she’d last seen him, and she didn’t fail to notice just how well he was positioned to snap her neck in case she tried anything. He gave her a small, kind smile that she reciprocated, but it did little to ease her nerves.

Pearl was sitting on one of the beds, back straight and eyes set on her. “Welcome,” she said, and motioned to the bed opposite her. “Please, sit.”

She was a rather regal-looking woman when she wasn’t half dead. With high cheekbones that Angela wagered could cut glass, a perfect posture, and movements that seemed to be controlled perfectly, the elegant clothing and updo she sported only served to heighten what already lay beneath the surface. It was certainly a contrast to how she had looked coming out of the tomb.

She sat down and smiled at her like she’d smiled at Harper. “Thank you. I’m glad to see you’re feeling better.”

Amusement flickered in her eyes. “I’m told I have you to thank for that.” Her accent was odd. It really did sound like she was from a different time, and it made her afraid to use words that were too small and childish.

She glanced at Anna, who was standing to the side of her mother. “You have your daughter to thank for that. If she was a cruel person, I never would’ve offered to help.”

Pearl turned to glance at her as well, and she saw a nearly imperceptible smile play at her lips. She schooled her features, however, and looked at her again. “I’ve heard an awfully curious tale about how you came to possess that bit of information.”

“Assuming that tale involves reincarnation, it should be the same as the one I told.”

“Indeed. But is it the truth?”

“As far as I understand, witches and warlocks can sense when a person has been reincarnated. Find one you trust and have them meet me, if you want.”

Pearl tilted her head in assent. “That should be easy enough to do. But I speak more in regards to your claim that this,” she motioned around them, “was once a story to you.”

“Oh. That.” She gave a tight smile. “That’s not as easy to verify.”

“You must realize how outlandish it sounds, surely?”

“Believe me, I know. It’s been my reality for the past seventeen years. I’d allow you to compel me, but…” Her eyes flicked down to her left hand. “I’m afraid it wouldn’t do too much.”

“And why is that?”

She hesitated. Would it really be wise to tell her the truth? It wouldn’t be much of an ace up her sleeve if she did. “I have no clue. It must be something to do with the fact that I’ve been reborn.”

“Ah,” she breathed, “that is a shame, isn’t it? And convenient.” She didn’t know what to say to that. “Tell me,” Pearl continued, “what was it you hoped to gain from freeing me? Our allegiance? A favor for a favor, as it were?”

Her hands began to grow clammy. Something in her tone made her all too aware of the fact that she was the only human among them. “What I hoped to gain was the knowledge that I prevented three pointless deaths. A mutually beneficial arrangement would be more than welcome, of course, but… I fully understand if you want to leave this town rather than open your apothecary back up.”

For the first time since she’d stepped foot into the room, she saw Pearl’s composure slip. Her eyes widened and her fingers twitched, but she looked to her daughter and gathered herself. Her lips parted in a silent laugh. “I suppose that solves our dilemma, then.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve told no one of my desire to reclaim the apothecary. Yet you knew. How might you know then, I wonder, unless you are a witch?”

 _It worked._ She’d had no idea if mentioning the apothecary would do the trick. She’d had no idea if the thought had even crossed Pearl’s mind yet. “Because I’m telling you the truth.”

“We’ll see. When I find a magic user, I’ll know if you are one as well. Until then, enlighten me: what does this mutually beneficial agreement of yours entail?”

“Put simply? I want to help you integrate with the rest of the town. I want to help you infiltrate the secret council and learn the things they do differently. I want them to grow to see you as trusted, valuable members of the community and prevent you from becoming suspect.”

“And in return?”

“In return… I would like one blood bag filled with your blood, every month. Which one of you fills it doesn’t matter to me. You can even take turns if you’d like.” She shrugged. “That’s all I want from you.”

That wasn’t strictly speaking true. She wanted an alliance; a proper, full-fledged alliance, where she knew that her people and Pearl’s people could count on each other in case anything ever happened. But something about Pearl’s disposition told her that asking for one, so early in their relationship, would displease her greatly.

“Blood is valuable in this world. Why would I trust mine to a girl I just met?”

“Because if I wanted it for malicious reasons, I would’ve taken it by force.” She heard Harper shift and added, “But I haven’t. And I won’t. Because the reason I want your blood isn’t malicious. It isn’t any reason that should cause you any concern. It’s only so I have a safety net.”

“And what manner of… _safety net_ would our blood offer you?”

She smiled then, and she knew that it was cold as snow. “I’ve cheated death once before. I’m more than willing to do it again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contrary to what you might think, I don't hate Damon at all. But he was a total ass early on in the series, and I wanted to accurately portray that.


	8. The Thrill of the Chasey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me why every time I think I’m almost done with a chapter I come up with an idea that ends up doubling its word length.

**CHAPTER 7**

_**THE THRILL OF THE CHASEY** _

Pearl had agreed to provide her with the blood.

Until Angela earned her trust, however, she was to consume it directly from the vein. That way, there was minimal risk of her using it for a spell that would in any way inconvenience them. Every morning, she was to meet with Anna behind her house and drink enough of her blood to cover her for twenty-four hours. It wasn’t an alliance, but it was a step towards one and that was good enough for now.

She was driving home when she heard her cell phone ding.

_Ty: can we talk?_

It wasn’t his fault she had reacted the way she did, but she wasn’t sure he understood that. Knowing Caroline, she’d completely chewed him out for it. She texted him back as soon as she hit a red light.

_Want me to come over?_

_Ty: only if you want to_

His response hurt her heart. Of course she wanted to. She told him so, and as soon as the light turned green, her surroundings became a blur. The large, wrought iron gate that guarded the Lockwood estate was open when she arrived, as it always was. She never came unannounced, after all, and Tyler always had time to unlock it.

She parked near the steps that led to the wide, brick porch and stepped out of her car. Before going inside, she decided to take a moment to bask in the sunlight and breathe in as deeply as she could. The trees that surrounded the property and the constant watering of grass made it have what she thought must have been the best air quality in town.

After ringing the doorbell and waiting a moment, Carol Lockwood’s elegantly-dressed figure appeared through the glass. Her face lit up when she noticed Angela, and she swung open the doors before bringing her into a hug.

“Angela,” she said, “what a pleasant surprise.”

“Hey, Mrs. Lockwood.”

The older woman pulled back to look at her admonishingly. “It’s Carol.”

She gave a sheepish smile. “Right. Sorry. Carol.”

“Oh,” she pinched her cheek, “don’t apologize for having good manners. Tyler’s up in his bedroom.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll bring up some snacks for you in a minute.”

She would have said “ _You don’t have to_ ,” if she thought it would do anything. “Take your time.”

The last thing she saw before disappearing up the stairs was Carol’s brilliant smile, and she bit the inside of her cheek so she wouldn’t laugh. It was no secret that she had been hoping for Tyler and Angela to fall madly in love with each other and get married ever since they first became friends, and it flustered Tyler far too much for her to not find it hilarious.

She tapped her knuckles against his door and immediately let herself through, briefly wondering why she bothered knocking anymore. He was standing near the large window that overlooked the back of the property, looking more ashamed than she had ever seen him.

She gently shut the door and walked to his side, stopping when they were only a few feet apart. The atmosphere was heavy with silence until she broke it. “It wasn’t your fault.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed. “You had a panic attack because of me.”

“I had a panic attack because of Damon. Not bec-”

“I shouldn’t have grabbed you like that. It wasn’t right.”

She dropped onto his bed with a huff. “I’ll admit, it wasn’t very gentlemanly of you, but I know that your intention wasn’t to scare me.”

“It wasn’t.” His eyes pleaded for her to understand, though she already did. “Fuck, that was the last thing I wanted to do.”

“I know, Tyler,” she said kindly. “I know. And I don’t blame you. So you shouldn’t blame yourself either.”

“But I did scare you. How the hell am I gonna forgive myself?”

She reached out and tugged on his hand until he sat down next to her. Her fingers ran through his hair the way they liked to run through Elena and Jeremy’s. “You’ll forgive yourself because _I_ forgive you. If you don’t, you’ll be implying that I have bad judgment, and… you don’t think I have bad judgment, do you?”

He said nothing for a while, choosing simply to stare at her. Finally, he swallowed and said, “Trick question.” Her laughter made him smile. “I dated Caroline for over a year. I’ve learned how to spot them.”

“But I _wanted_ you to fall for my trick. That was the point.”

“Too bad, short-stack.”

She sighed lightly. “Well, anyway, you see my point, right? You were trying to make me feel better and I get that.”

“ _Are_ you feeling better?”

She gave his hair a playful tug before falling onto her back. “Of course I am, you dummy. If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have come over.”

“Good. That’s good.”

The ceiling in front of her was surrounded by an elegant border, and it made her think of how everything about the Lockwood estate screamed “wealth.” From the grass that made up more than half of it and was greener than any she had ever seen, to the marble fountain that was visible before one even stepped through the gates, down to the smallest of details like the ceiling borders and stairway railings. Sometimes, she felt unworthy to be so comfortable inside of it.

Out the corner of her eye, she saw Tyler lie down next to her. She heard the faint sound of sprinklers going off, alerting her that it had just turned three o’clock, and closed her eyes with a content smile. “You know,” she muttered, “that sound reminds me of simpler times.”

“You mean when my mom yelled at us that one time?”

Her smile widened. “Yeah…”

It had been a warm, sunny day like this one, and Angela had come over to play video games with Tyler. To this day she didn’t know what possessed her, but at some point she’d looked out his window at that perfectly trimmed, wet, green grass glittering in the sun, and knew she wanted nothing more than to feel it between her toes as she danced until her clothes became so heavy from the water they forced her to fall to the ground.

With a mischievous grin, she’d grabbed Tyler’s hand and dragged him down to the back of the house. When she took her sandals off and he realized what she was about to do, he tried desperately to stop her, saying that his father would kill him if they ruined the lawn. She simply rolled her eyes and pointed out that he didn’t have to know; that he’d left the house a couple minutes ago to have a late lunch with someone important and that the only other person in the house was his mother.

Eventually, she’d managed to make him give in, and if she concentrated really hard, she could still remember how the short, plush grass felt beneath the soles of her feet. She could remember how the water from the sprinklers felt hitting the skin exposed by her white, lace sundress, and how unbelievably free she felt as she spun beneath the sun. She thought there was little she wouldn’t give to feel that way again.

Unfortunately, their fun had been cut short when Carol caught a glimpse of them through her office window, and Angela had gotten yelled at by her for the first and only time in her life.

“When was that anyway?” She knew it had been the summer before last, but couldn’t remember the exact date.

The bed sheets ruffled near her ear. “August 15th. The day before we got our tattoos.”

“Mm, that’s right. Feels like forever ago.”

“Yeah.” His voice was almost a whisper. “It does.”

She didn’t hear the sheets ruffle again for a long time.

Caroline must have been a dictator in her previous life.

“You call that a lunge? Keep your back straight! That’s, like, the whole point of a lunge!”

Angela shot her the most heated glare she could. “I’m trying, bitchface!”

Faintly, she was glad that Liz Forbes had gone down to the station before she got there and didn’t have to witness the profuse swearing that had been taking place in her living room.

Caroline crossed her arms sternly. “Do or do not. There is no try.”

With how her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes widened, Angela wagered she didn’t look too unlike an angry frog. “Did you just quote fucking _Star Wars_ at me?”

“Oh, is that what it’s from?” She scrunched her nose. “A kid said it during French. Nerd.”

“Ugh, I’d defend nerds if I actually cared right now.”

“Come _on_. You only have to do five more. Then we can move onto pushups!”

All she could do in response was groan.

A good fifteen minutes later, Angela was laid flat on the bubblegum pink mat that Caroline had brought out and was doing her best to catch her breath. “This," she panted, " _sucks_.”

Caroline’s pigtail braids squatted down next to her. “Well, look on the bright side. You did super well.”

Angela weakly turned her head to look at her. “Really?”

She smiled. “Really. And don’t worry, the hard part’s getting started. Things will be a lot easier from now on.”

“… _Really_?”

Caroline stood with a giggle. “Yeah. Now come on. You need to rehydrate.” Her cell phone started ringing and she hurried over to pick it up. “Hey, Bonnie, what-” There was a pause before Caroline’s eyes widened. “What?” Angela forced herself up on an elbow and shot her a questioning look. “Yeah. Yeah, of course. Angie’s with me. We’ll call Elena. You call Tyler, okay? …Okay. See you in a bit.”

“What’s going on?”

She hung up, lips thin in worry. “Ms. Sheila hasn’t woken up yet.”

“I’ve done everything I can think of!” Bonnie was pacing back and forth in Sheila’s bedroom. Her hair was messy, there were bags beneath her eyes, and she looked like she hadn’t slept all night. “I’ve tried to feed her, water her, I’ve shaken her and talked to her and I even tried to call my mom, but she isn’t picking up!” She dropped into the armchair by the wardrobe. “I have no idea what to do.”

“Have you tried using magic?” It was Tyler who spoke, and Angela cringed.

She opened her mouth to warn him that it was a sore subject, but Bonnie beat her to the punch. “Of course I have! But nothing happened!” She violently gestured towards Sheila’s unconscious figure. “Obviously!” He put his hands up in surrender and awkwardly looked away, making Bonnie deflate with a sigh. She brought a hand up to rub her forehead. “Sorry. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to yell.”

“Hey,” Caroline muttered, “I’d be yelling too.”

That made Bonnie chuckle. “I know you would be.”

Angela observed Sheila. Her chest was rising and falling steadily and she had felt her heartbeat just fine when she first came in the room, but nothing they did had managed to render her lucid. Part of her wondered if she disrupted the healing process by waking her up after the tomb.

She’d brought up the possibility of having Anna compel a doctor or a nurse to examine her, but Bonnie shot it down, saying that she didn’t trust a vampire with anything regarding Sheila. Angela couldn’t particularly blame her, considering Anna was a relative stranger to them all, but that had left her with only one idea.

“You can’t do magic,” she heard herself say, “but what if we find someone who can?”

All eyes fell on her.

“You know where to find another witch?” Elena asked.

The only place she knew where they could easily find a witch was New Orleans, but that wasn’t much of an option. Not when she didn’t know what they would do to her when they sensed what she was. And without Sheila awake, she couldn’t learn where the Parkers or any of her other friends were.

“No. I don’t.” She pursed her lips bitterly. “But I know someone who does.”

The Salvatore Boarding House was one of the first places she visited when she realized she’d been reincarnated. Though she couldn’t remember precisely how it had looked in her first life, she remembered that it had been one of her favorite buildings in the entire show. And now that she lived in Mystic Falls, Virginia, it was one of her favorite buildings in the entire town.

“Are you sure you’re up for this, Lena?” She had insisted on coming with her, and this time, nothing Angela said managed to change her mind.

She nodded determinately. “I’m never leaving you alone with him again.”

Angela made a face that said “it’s your funeral” and tugged on the old-fashioned, brass doorbell. There was a wait so long she went to tug on it again, but then the door swung open… all by itself. She and her sister shared a look. After a moment, Elena decided to step inside, and with little choice left, she followed suit.

The air was different on the other side of the door. Sacred. It felt like stepping into a cathedral that had been erected centuries before she had been born and would still be standing centuries after she had been turned to dust.

“Hello?” her sister called out as they walked into the living room. Although, she thought that calling it a living room was a bit insulting.

The engraved, deep walnut walls rose so high she was sure she would get a crick in her neck if she tried to estimate how tall they were. There were elegant, exposed wood beams that supported the roof and framed an archway on either end of the room. The one to her left led to what seemed to be a sitting area with a fireplace, while the one to her right led to what was either a library or an office. A large, ornate, iron chandelier hung low from the middle of the ceiling, but she was sure that even if she jumped as high as she could, her fingers would never graze it.

The matching walnut floorboards were smooth and spanned at least thirty feet from her left to her right. They were decorated by beautiful, reddish-colored rugs and supported antique furniture that had no doubt been collected over the ages. Directly in front of her, there was an archway that led to a dining area. She could see that the wooden table was surrounded by thin, stain glass windows, and that only heightened her feeling of this being a sacred place. Above the archway hung a tapestry, and she noticed that there were other decorations scattered all around the walls; a shelf and a vase here, a pair of crossed swords there, and paintings that surely belonged in a museum.

At that moment, she felt so unbelievably foolish for ever thinking that the Lockwood manor looked wealthy. Comparing it to the boarding house would be like comparing the holdfast of a petty lord to that of the Sun King. This, she thought, was true wealth. And though she was too afraid to touch anything for fear of tainting it, she knew that she never wanted to leave.

“Well, this is new.”

She whirled around to find none other than Damon Salvatore standing by the front door. He gently pushed it shut and sauntered towards them. “Gotta be honest, I was expecting Angela to come in first.” His lips formed a smirk as he looked at Elena. “I was pleasantly surprised.”

She saw her sister take a deep, shaky breath and envied her for it. She couldn’t seem to breathe no matter how hard she tried. Elena gave him a brief once-over. “Wish I could say the same.” Angela would laugh at that later, when she was getting dressed for bed.

Damon laughed at it now. He tilted his head and looked at Elena from beneath his lashes. “Something told me you were the fun twin.” His eyes moved to her, and she felt her heart stutter in fear. “What are you doing here?”

 _Say something. If you act like prey, he’ll treat you like prey._ She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “We want you to tell us where to find Bree.”

“Huh,” he flicked his eyebrows and began walking to the alcohol, “not so pleasant a surprise.”

“It’s the least you could do,” Elena said, and Angela bit her tongue so she wouldn’t beg her to shut up.

He pointed at them as he poured himself a glass of bourbon. Her insides twisted at the most recent memory she had of the drink. “Actually,” he said, “the least I could do is absolutely nothing. Which,” he brought the glass up in a salute, “is exactly what I’m planning on doing.” He took a sip before walking away and sitting down on a lavish, patterned loveseat.

His back was to them, and Elena looked at her in annoyance. Angela moved so she would be within his line of sight again, distantly registering the fact that her sister was following her. “You mean you don’t want our help with infiltrating the Council? Four dead bodies within a week… you really should know better by now.”

He narrowed his cold, blue eyes, and her throat closed up. “What would a high-schooler know about the Council?”

She swallowed. “Thought we’ve been through all this.”

“Alright then. I’ll humor you. Tell me, great, omniscient twelve-year-old, how exactly are you planning on helping me get away with murder?”

“They trust us. The Council. They know we know about vampires. If we tell them that you’re trustworthy and you don’t do anything too… _Damon-y_ , you should have a much easier time getting them to trust you, too.”

He was silent for a moment before he rolled his eyes and took another sip of bourbon. “Thanks for the concern, but I’ll manage just fine on my own.”

“Had a feeling you’d say that.” She brought her cell phone out of her purse and showed it to him. “It’s nine fifty-seven. If I don’t call Bonnie Bennett within the next three minutes to tell her that you’ve agreed to our terms, she’ll out you to the entire town. If I don’t call Tyler Lockwood within the next thirty-three minutes to tell him the same thing, he’ll out you to the entire town. If I don’t call Caroline Forbes within the next sixty-three minutes to tell her the same thing-”

“Let me guess: she’ll out me to the entire town.”

She smiled sarcastically. “Well done, Damon. Would you like a cookie?”

He stood with a glare, though she found that her fear had begun to dissipate. “Don’t push it.”

“Will you help us find Bree in exchange for us helping you infiltrate the Council?”

He said nothing for a moment before he sneered. “ _Fine_. Hope you like beer and greasy cheeseburgers.”

“You couldn’t have just _told_ us where she was?” she asked from the backseat of Damon’s blue Camaro.

“And leave you three to conspire against me?” He snorted. “No thanks.”

Elena turned to look at him from the passenger’s seat. “Why would she want to conspire against you? Isn’t she your friend?”

“ _Ha!_ ” Angela brought a hand up to her mouth too late. She tilted her head and looked at them in amusement. “Damon? Friends? Have you met him?”

Elena chuckled and Damon glanced at her in the rear-view mirror. “Keep it up, Raven Baxter. Might make me eat you next.”

“You know, your threats aren’t nearly as effective when I know you can’t hurt us.”

“Oh, that’s right. I can’t. Where does that Bennett witch live again? Maybe I’ll pay her a visit.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Why? Think killing her will render the contract null? All you’d be doing is committing suicide.”

“Ooh, suicide. That’s a good cover up.”

Elena gave a sharp sigh. “Don’t you ever get tired of talking to people like this? You know, knowing you can never just have a deep, meaningful conversation with somebody?”

He turned to look at her, and Angela caught how his eyes softened for a split-second. “You’ve talked to me all of three times and now you think you know everything.” He turned back towards the road. “Here I thought I was arrogant.”

After a long, silent moment, Angela awkwardly widened her eyes and dug her iPod out of her purse. “Right, well, um, I’m gonna listen to music and pretend I’m anywhere but here. Tell me when we arrive.”

“You can listen to music without that.” His hand reached out to turn on the radio, and the chorus of Taylor Swift’s _You Belong With Me_ came blaring out the speakers. He quickly changed the station to something considerably harder and glanced next to him, at a baffled Elena. “What?” He shrugged, and she could hear the smile in his voice. “Chicks love it.”

It was two o’clock in the afternoon and she was beginning to get hungry. “Can we stop for food soon?”

“Yeah,” Elena had to raise her voice in order to be heard over the wind whipping around them, “I’m starving.”

“With all that hair you’ve been eating,” Damon said, “I thought you’d be full by now.”

About an hour ago he had decided to put the hood down, and she was glad she had brought a hair tie with her. Elena, on the other hand, was not so lucky, and kept having to spit hair out of her mouth.

Elena huffed and slapped a stray lock away from her eyes. “Hilarious.”

“I know,” he drawled.

Angela tilted her head. “Damon, can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“How come you’re being so nice today? It’s unsettling.” Since they’d embarked on their road trip, she hadn’t once felt genuinely afraid of him. Angry? Yes. Annoyed? Absolutely. Afraid? Not so much.

“Why shouldn’t I be nice? I have my trusty sidekicks helping me out with the Council, my brother hasn’t been brooding up the place for an entire day and a half, and I’ll be reunited with the love of my life within the year.” He looked at her in the rear-view mirror. “Life’s great.”

She narrowed her eyes skeptically. “What do you mean Stefan hasn’t been brooding?”

“Oh, he could be broodier than ever for all I know. He hasn’t been home since Thursday.”

“What?” Elena snapped her head towards him. “What do you mean he hasn’t been home?”

“I mean _he hasn’t been home_.” He rolled his eyes. “Do both of you need hearing aids?”

“Actually,” Angela said, “now that you mention it, I didn’t see him at school on Friday.” She’d thought it was because he was avoiding her, but now she suspected it was because of something far more serious.

“Yeah, actually, me neither.” Elena turned around to look at her. “Do you know anything about that?”

 _Probably._ “Not really.” She smiled her kind, practiced smile. “We’ll figure it out after we get this over with.”

Elena smiled in return and reached forward to grab her hand. Gently, she mouthed, “Are you okay?” and Angela felt her eyes soften. She nodded reassuringly. The car turning right made her look up, and she saw that they’d pulled up to a McDonald’s drive-thru.

Damon turned to them with a sarcastic smile. “You’re paying.”

“Can we change the station?” Elena asked. “Or maybe just turn the radio off so I don’t have to try and hear my own thoughts over the sound of road work.”

Damon drew his head back in offense. “You mean Metallica? You don’t like Metallica? What’s wrong with you?”

Angela scrunched her nose. “Can’t believe I’m forced to agree with him.”

“See? Thank you, Angela. At least one of you is sane.”

“Don’t compliment me.”

“And no, we cannot change the station. You need to become cultured.”

Elena sighed. “Fine.” She reached over to do it herself, but Damon covered the radio with his hand. She shot him an unimpressed look. “Really?”

“My car, my rules.”

“Because why on Earth should Damon Salvatore show a modicum of hospitality?” Some hair smacked her in the face and she roughly shoved it behind her ear. “Could you at least put the hood back up?”

She saw his eyes crinkle in the mirror. He pushed a button, making the hood slowly cover the car, and asked, “What’s your favorite color?”

Elena blinked. “What?”

“What’s your favorite color?”

“N-no, I heard you, I’m asking why you want to know.”

“You want hospitality. It’s only polite for the host – me – to try and get to know the guest – you – a little bit better. So, what’s your favorite color?”

“U-um… blue.”

“Blue?” He sounded disgusted. “Seriously? Everyone says blue.”

“Well that’s my favorite color, gracious host. What’s yours? Black like your soul or red like the blood of your victims?”

He laughed. “You know, I can see why my brother’s smitten. You’ve got spunk, talking to a vampire like this.”

“Wish I knew what my sister sees in _you_. And why she hasn’t killed you yet.”

She took that as her cue to speak. “Because I’m able to separate my feelings from what needs to be done. Just because I never want to see him again doesn’t mean it would be wise to kill him.”

Other than wanting to give him and Stefan a chance to be brothers again, there was the very real possibility that he would fall in love with her sister. And when Damon cared for someone that deeply, there was little he wouldn’t do to keep them safe. _Maybe this road trip is a good thing. It’ll help put him on that track._ That didn’t mean she had to like Elena spending time with him though.

“It’s good to know you’re so wise, Angela,” he said with fake sincerity. “Entrusting the secrets of the universe to a maniac would’ve been a really bad idea.”

She clenched her jaw so she wouldn’t say, _“Your mother is a ripper,”_ out of annoyance. She made a mental note to come up with an appropriate _yo mama_ joke for if that ever came up. “That’s not to say I’m unwilling to kill him if he becomes too big of an issue.”

“Ooh, I’m shaking. So if you don’t like Metallica, what _do_ you like? Spice Girls?”

Elena scoffed. “Yeah, when I was in elementary school.” Angela knew she still listened to them. “I don’t know, I listen to… normal people music.”

“Oh God, please don’t tell me you only listen to the top 100.”

“ _No_. I don’t know… like… ABBA.”

“ABBA? Seriously? ABBA?” Elena shot him a glare. “Anyway. Favorite movie?”

“Are we honestly playing _twenty questions_ right now?”

“Is there anything better to do? We have another two hours until we reach Atlanta.”

“We could stop talking and listen to better music.” She reached out towards the radio, but Damon playfully batted her hand away. Her nostrils flared and she went to try again, but he did the same thing. It happened again and again before Elena gave up and threw her hands in the air. “God! You are such a child.”

“I’m 170 years old.”

“A- Wait, really?”

“Yup. Kinda creepy for my brother to be so into you, isn’t it?”

She thought that was rich, coming from him. “Don’t let him get in your head. It’d be about as creepy as me dating someone _my_ physical age.” As the words left her mouth, she realized it wasn’t much of an argument. If she could bring herself to see the MFMs as anything other than kids, she would have fallen for Caroline years ago.

“Don’t listen to her,” he said. His voice became a loud whisper and he brought a hand up to hide his mouth from her. “ _It’s super creepy_.”

The small laugh that Elena failed to hide felt like a slap in the face.

“I spy… one stuffy Gilbert twin.”

Angela rolled her eyes. “I’m not stuffy. I just don’t like you.”

“You know, I used to know a girl that looked _just_ like you. She was much more fun.”

“Yeah, well, you haven’t exactly given me a reason to enjoy your company.”

“You mean my charming presence isn’t enough to make you fall madly in love with me?”

“Damon, the only time your presence is charming is when it isn’t there.”

He nodded as if she’d impressed him. “Not bad.” He glanced over at her sister, who was sleeping peacefully. “So, now that she isn’t listening… why’d you lie about not knowing what Stefan’s up to?”

She nearly choked. “Uh, I didn’t lie.”

“Uh, yeah, you did. Vampire hearing, remember? Your heart was pounding.”

“Sure it wasn’t just because I realized how charming your presence is?”

His eyes crinkled, and she imagined his sarcastic smile. “Nice try. Tell me.”

She looked at the cars rushing by and tried to keep her cool so he wouldn’t know she wasn’t telling the entire truth. “From what I know, the only time Stefan isn’t _brooding up the place_ is either when he’s with someone he really likes or when he’s been drinking… you know.”

His eyebrows rose. “How do you- never mind. You think he’s been eating people?”

She shrugged small. “It’s just a guess.”

“Huh… well… good for him.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“About time he remembered who he is. What he is.”

“Wh- Have you completely forgotten what happens when Stefan drinks human blood?”

He shrugged a shoulder. “Hey, he never signed a contract. I don’t care what he does.”

She gaped at him. “How can you say that?”

His eyes met hers in the mirror, and for the first time since they got in the car, she felt a bolt of fear run through her body. “Because nothing matters, Angela. Nothing. Not until I find Katherine.”

Something about the way he said the word “find” made her breath hitch in realization. “That’s why you’re coming with us to speak to Bree. You want her to cast a locator spell.”

He said nothing, but that was answer enough. _“It won’t work,”_ she wanted to tell him. _“If she wasn’t cloaking herself she’d be dead.”_ But it would be infinitely more effective for him to find that out on his own. He pulled up to a grey, one-story building that had the words “Bree’s Bar” written in large, green letters above the entrance.

Angela knew that it had turned six o’clock a couple minutes ago, because she’d called Bonnie to assure her that everything was still fine. She wondered what time it would be when they got back home, but she’d thankfully had the foresight to tell Jenna that she and Elena would be staying at Caroline’s the entire day.

Damon nudged her sister awake, who rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and found the sign. “Is this it?”

“No,” he drawled, “this is another Bree’s bar.”

Elena decided to ignore him and simply exit the car, prompting Angela to follow suit. The outside was rather plain-looking in her opinion, but through its windows she could see that it was as busy as the Mystic Grill.

Elena reached for the door, but jumped when Damon blocked it with his hand, like he had the radio. With a smirk and mirth dancing in his eyes, he opened it and gestured for her to enter. Elena tilted her head in suspicion, but Angela saw how her lips pursed in order to hide her smile. It wasn’t a laugh, so it didn’t hurt as much.

The inside was cozy, with brown, orange, and green shades everywhere. She wondered if all practicing witches had an affinity for earth tones, or if it was only Sheila and Bree. Damon guided them to the U-shaped bar in the middle of the room and sat on one of the industrial, leather-seated stools. They both joined him, Angela on his right and Elena on his left.

Damon loudly cleared his throat at the bartender, who was talking to a waiter on the other side and had her back to them.

“I’ll be with you in a sec-” She glanced back and gasped big when she saw him. “No. No, it can’t be. Damon, my honey pie?”

“Bree,” his eyes ran up and down her body, “I missed those tight little tank tops.”

Bree was a beautiful woman who looked to be in her early forties. Her umber brown skin was spotless, her long, curly hair was healthy-looking, and Angela thought that the grin that made two dimples appear in her cheeks was the prettiest she’d seen in a while.

Before she could blink, Bree had jumped over the bar and pulled Damon in for a fierce kiss. With wide eyes, Angela leaned back to look at her sister, and hid a laugh at the disturbed expression on her face.

“Listen up, everybody!” Bree grabbed a bottle and four shot glasses, pouring them all a drink. “This here’s to the man that broke my heart, crushed my soul, destroyed my life, and ruined any and all chances of happiness!”

Angela heard some cheers and wolf-whistles as Damon turned to look at them with a wide smirk on his face. “Cheers,” he said, and downed his drink at the same time as Bree.

 _Should I? I’m still underage._ _Technically. But if she wasn’t okay with it, she wouldn’t have poured me a shot, would she?_ “Screw it.” Angela downed her drink and hissed when it burned her throat.

“Woman after my own heart,” Bree said. She looked at her sister. “Don’t you drink?”

Elena’s mouth dropped open. “Oh, I, um…” Her eyes flicked to Angela, who shrugged in a silent repeat of her previous sentiment. She smiled coyly. “Yes. I do.”

Bree gave a dimpled grin as Elena knocked back her shot. “That’s the spirit. So, tell me,” her gaze shifted between them, “which one of you did he manage to rope in?”

Angela coughed. “U-uh, neither.”

“Oh, honey, if you’re not roped, you’re whipped.” She sighed happily and poured them all another round. “Either way, I say just sit back,” she drank her shot, “and enjoooy the ride.” Angela raised a brow at the suggestive tone in her voice.

Elena awkwardly cleared her throat. “So, uh, how did you two meet?”

“College.”

Her brown eyes looked to Damon in disbelief. “ _You_ went to college?”

He smiled. “I’ve been on a campus.”

“Back when I was a sweet, young freshman, I met this,” Bree pointed at him, “beautiful man. And I fell in love. But then he told me his little secret and I fell even harder. Because, you see,” she leaned in conspiratorially, “I had a little secret of my own that I was just dying to tell somebody.”

Elena threw her head back in realization. “That you’re a witch.”

That visibly surprised her. “You know?”

Angela gave a tight smile. “That’s actually… kind of why we’re here. One of our best friends? Her grandmother’s a witch. There’s something wrong with her, but we aren’t sure what.”

“Well, what seems to be the problem?”

“A few days ago, she expended a lot of magic and fell unconscious. She’s still breathing, her heartbeat’s steady, and she woke up shortly after she collapsed, but now, nothing we do is able to wake her.”

Damon blinked. “Wait, the Bennett witch is knocked out? And here I thought getting rid of her would be an issue.”

Bree’s eyes went wide. “I’m sorry, did you just say Bennett? As in, one of the most powerful magical bloodlines in North America?”

Elena looked at Angela questioningly, but she ignored her. “That’s the one. Have any idea if what’s happening to her is normal?”

She let out a long breath, as if the surname had knocked the wind out of her. “Haven’t had much experience with magic overuse, but… you shouldn’t be having this much trouble getting her to wake up.”

Her stomach sank. “I was worried you’d say that.”

“What if she went against one of her ancestors’ orders beforehand?” Elena asked. “Could that have anything to do with it?”

“Defying a dead Bennett witch?” Bree snorted. “Can’t imagine it’d lead to anything good.”

“But would it lead to this?”

She tilted her head and scrutinized them. “Could be. I’d probably have to meet her to know for sure. See if I can sense anything.”

“When do you get off work?” Angela immediately asked, and she laughed.

“Why?” Her tone became low and suggestive. “Wanna buy me dinner?”

“U-um…”

“I’m the boss. I get off work whenever I want to. Although I should probably stay for another hour or two, considering I just started my shift.”

“Well then,” Damon raised his glass, “here’s to old memories.”

Bree poured herself another shot and mirrored his gesture. “And to whatever mess I just got myself roped into.”

“Okay,” Elena said, “you’re cheating.”

Damon had moved them down the bar and chose a seat on the corner for himself. Elena had taken pity on her by deciding to sit next to him, which allowed Angela to sit on the corner’s other side.

It was so they could see each other well while they passed the time, she knew, but that didn’t mean she liked how close Damon was sitting to her sister. Nor did she like the fact that his idea of passing the time involved playing drinking games.

“What?” he asked incredulously. “How would you even know that?”

Elena glared at him, but with how her cheeks were flushed from alcohol it didn’t make her look very intimidating. “Because I refuse to believe you’ve never eaten a child.”

He scoffed. “Do you really think I’m that evil?”

“You aren’t exactly a model citizen.”

“Yeah, well, neither is my brother.” There was a sliver of amusement in his voice that made Angela narrow her eyes. She knew exactly what he meant by that.

“At least he never ate a child.”

“And neither have I!”

They stared each other down until Angela decided to break them apart. “My turn! Never have I ever… murdered a high school teacher.” The way his nose scrunched made her smile.

“Now who’s cheating?” He drank regardless, and Elena smugly refilled his glass. “Never have I ever…” His eyes shot to Angela. “Kept a secret from my sister.”

She knew exactly what he meant by that, too. She glanced at Elena. “Cheers?”

Elena clinked their glasses together. “Cheers.” They downed their shots, and she could see that Damon was confused.

“What?” She filled them back up. “I’m not about to unload the secrets of the universe onto my sister. And you,” she pointed at her, “kept Chasey secret for a whole entire month.”

Elena groaned. “Oh God, please don’t talk about Chasey in front of him.”

“What? No, I want to know.” He leaned forward. “Who’s Chasey?”

Angela raised a challenging eyebrow. “Are you gonna tell him or should I? Because it was so long ago. The details are a little… _fuzzy_. I might,” she gasped behind her hand, “ _exaggerate_ some things.”

“Alright, alright!” She turned to Damon with a sigh. “Chasey was… my first boyfriend.” His eyebrows shot up. “And he was unbelievably cute. His eyes were big, and round, and just the most beautiful shade of brown I’ve ever seen. His hair was soft, and perfect, and I loved running my fingers through it. He was always there for me when I needed him. Always. He was… God, he was just the best listener.

“My mom wanted me to get into writing, you know. Angie’s special activity with her was singing and mine was writing. She got me this diary when I was little that I never really bothered to open until after she passed. I didn’t need it, I thought, because I had my sister to confide in… and I had Chasey.” She wasn’t sure whether hearing that made her want to cry or cackle.

Elena sighed wistfully. “Chasey was perfect, plain and simple. But, you know, if I had to choose my absolute favorite thing about him… it would have to be his ears.”

Damon had seemed enraptured until that moment. “His _ears_?”

“Yeah.” Her lips twitched. “God, they just look so tiny and round, the way they sit on top of his fluffy little head. And they frame his blue top hat so well – or, well, _framed_. I did accidentally rip it off, like, a week after I met him. But still, even though I ripped it off, he stayed. He stayed with me through everything. Whenever he isn’t on my bed he’s on my bookshelf, just sitting there. Guarding me. Protecting me. My silent sentinel. I… I love him, Damon. I love him.”

His expression was sour. “Chasey’s a teddy bear, isn’t he?”

Elena grinned proudly and raised her glass. “Got him when I was five.”

“Great. Well. That was a waste of time.”

“Like you have anything better to do.”

He eyed Bree. “Maybe I do.”

“You’re disgusting.”

“More disgusting than you falling in love with a stuffed animal?”

“I was _five_. Besides, from what I hear, you should be the last person to judge my love life.”

“Ouch. Snark at where it hurts. How very Damon of you.”

“I’m nothing like you.”

“Sure you aren’t.”

“Stop doing that.”

“Stop doing what?”

“Saying things in a tone that says you mean the exact opposite. It’s annoying.”

“It’s sarcasm.”

“It’s _annoying_. And immature.”

“Ooh, the girl who fell in love with a teddy bear joined the Maturity Police now, did she? What if someone found out about you and Chasey? Would you get fired? Or would you retire out of embarrassment? Oh! I know! You can start a movement to arm bears so he can come protect you from the big, bad threat of impending humiliation!”

“…I hate you.”

“Sure you do.”

“Ready?” Bree wiggled with an excited grin on her face. “Go!”

Damon had gotten bored by their game, and Elena must’ve had a bit too much alcohol in her, because she suggested they play a game of endurance instead. After the first round, people started catching on, and there were currently six other patrons cheering them on.

“That’s three!” Elena clapped and looked at a bewildered Damon. She pouted mockingly. “Aww, poor baby… do you need a bib?”

“Sorry. I can’t unhinge my jaw like a snake.”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Alright, who’s next? Another round!”

“I’ll go!” It was a young, red haired woman who spoke, and Elena welcomed her with a grin.

Bree snorted through her laughter and refilled their glasses. “Think I’ll get myself a Porsche after this. Always wanted a Porsche.”

Angela was getting antsy. “Elena, you might want to stop soon.”

To her immense surprise, she blew her a raspberry. “Please, I’m not even a _little_ drunk. My tolerance is, like,” she went on her tippy toes and extended a hand as far up as it would go, “waaay up there.”

She saw Damon get up from his stool and beckon Bree away from the crowd. As Elena and the redhead knocked their shots back, she quietly observed what she guessed was a conversation about Katherine.

The more Damon spoke, the more remorseful Bree looked, and after a brief verbal exchange, she squeezed his shoulder and spoke to one of her employees. The man nodded, and she watched him walk closer until he was behind the bar. Bree guided Damon into a side room before its door shut closed and she could no longer see them.

She glanced back at her sister. The last thing she wanted to do was leave her alone, but the first thing she wanted to do was listen in on what Bree and Damon were doing. She had to make sure he didn’t kill her before they could get back to Sheila.

She addressed the man behind the bar. “Excuse me?” He came over to her, and she saw that his name was Avi. She smiled her kind, practiced smile. “Could you please keep an eye on my sister? I need to make a phone call.”

He followed her line of sight and nodded. “Yeah, of course.”

“Thank you.” She pushed herself off the stool and, as quietly as she could, snuck over to the grey, metal door.

She covered her left ear with her hand so she could better hear what was happening inside, but it didn’t do much. Her sister _had_ amassed a group of loud, drunk people, after all. She wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Elena had been a bit of a party girl before the murder – the Sommers gene, Grayson had called it – and while it gladdened her to see her sister’s old and happy self, knowing that Damon was the one that brought it out of her produced nothing but resentment.

_“…where…”_

_“…close?”_

_“Not…”_

_“…then…”_

She pulled back with a grimace. This was useless. Her cell phone read nineteen, and with a start, she realized she had to call Caroline to let her know that everything was fine. Thankfully, the bathroom was quiet enough for a phone call. _Look at that. Didn’t lie to Avi after all._ Everything was okay back in Mystic Falls according to the blonde, though Sheila’s condition was unchanged.

She went back to Elena, eyeing the metal door all the while. She was fairly certain that since Damon hadn’t murdered Lexi – something she would absolutely _not_ allow to happen – Bree wasn’t trying to kill him and he had no reason to kill her in turn. However, hearing that Katherine was virtually untraceable had every chance to upset him enough to do something drastic.

And what would happen if he did? Who would she go to then? Where did the Parker patriarch live? She wanted to say Michigan, but she was positive it wasn’t Michigan. Would New Orleans be worth the risk? Emily wanted to kill her just by sensing what she was. Was it because of her being reincarnated or because of her being a parasite? How could witches and warlocks even tell what she was? Was there some way to cloak her identity? What if Sheila never woke up? What if she died sooner than expected? What if she killed her, just like she did her parents and Tanner? What if she couldn’t save her? What if she could never save _anyone_? She had to save Sheila. She _had_ to save Sheila.

She didn’t realize she had broken her glass until Bree exited the room.

“This cheeseburger isn’t _that_ greasy.”

Angela had ordered it for her. She didn’t trust Damon around her sister when she was sober, and she trusted him around her far less when she was drunk.

“But,” he said, “it does contain pickles, which you hate for some insane reason.” He picked one off of her plate and popped it in his mouth.

Elena watched him in confusion. “Is any of this real? This whole nice act you’ve got going on? Because Angie was right. It’s unsettling.”

“It’s only because you’re here,” she said. She had enough time to think about what was happening. Damon’s emotions were on, or he wouldn’t have cried when he found out that Katherine wasn’t in the tomb. Seeing Elena, who looked exactly like her, must have triggered some instinct of his to make her like him. “He’s never been this nice in front of me.”

“Why is it unsettling, Elena? Because you’re actually enjoying spending time with me? Do you not want to admit to yourself that you’re having fun?”

“I am _not_ having fun.”

“Then what do you call singing along to the radio and partying with strangers?”

“I never sang along to anything.”

“Oh, sure you did. I heard you mumbling along to _Use Somebody_.”

“I don’t even like that song! How would I know the words?”

“Maybe because you’re a big fat liar.”

“I am _not_ a liar.”

“Are too.”

“Am not.”

“Except you are.”

“I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.”

“No,” she said through gritted teeth, “I’m not.”

“You are.”

“Damon.”

“Hm?” He had the biggest shit-eating grin she had ever seen in her life.

Elena was fuming. “You’re acting like a child.”

“I’m not the one throwing a hissy fit.”

Elena threw a pickle at him, and Angela decided that enough was enough. “Okay!” She stood, sure that she looked as incredulous as she felt. “I need to use the bathroom. Elena. Come with me.”

Never once taking her furious eyes off of him, Elena grabbed her purse and followed her. Angela turned on her as soon as they were alone. “Okay, what the hell is happening? Why are you acting like this?”

“I’m sorry, he just… ugh, he figured out _exactly_ how to push my buttons. I didn’t mean to get upset.”

“ _What_? Elena, you’re flirting with him.”

“What?” Her eyes went wide. “No, I’m not! Are you serious? He traumatized you, Angie. I would never flirt with someone that did that.”

 _You’d never flirt with someone that snapped Jeremy’s neck, either._ “And you know what, while we’re at it, what the hell is happening with you and Stefan? I thought you were going to ask him out, and now I find out you didn’t even realize he was missing? Have you told him that you know what he is yet?”

Elena’s mouth moved soundlessly. “I… um…”

“It’s a yes or no question.”

She glared. “No. Okay? I haven’t told him. And you want to know why? Because even though a part of me is screaming to take the plunge and fall head over heels for him like it wants to, another part of me is screaming, saying that vampires are monsters that kill people, and traumatize people, and use them for their own amusement, and that Stefan is one of them. Alright? That’s why I haven’t told him. Because once I do, there’s no going back.

“And even though you said that he’s not that kind of vampire, whenever I think about what he and I might be like together… whenever I imagine us hugging or kissing, all I can think about is his face changing and attacking me and that being the last thing I ever see, and…” She took a shaky breath. “That terrifies me, Angie. That terrifies me more than anything.”

 _I’m an idiot._ “I never should’ve told you.”

“What?”

She bit her lip. “I never should’ve told you. About him. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t my secret to tell. If I never told you, you wouldn’t be feeling this way right now.”

Elena shook her head. “Yes, you should have. And you did. Because you care about me and you wanted me to know what I was getting myself into.”

“Actually, I told you because I was afraid you’d yell at me once you found out on your own.”

She breathed a laugh. “The point is that you told me. And I’m glad you did. I’d have felt this way sooner or later. Better it happens now instead of when I’m already half in love with him.”

“He’d make you happy, you know. I want you to be happy.”

“You letting me think about this is what would make me happy. I get that you love me and want what’s best for me, but… this is something I need to figure out for myself.”

“Okay. I can do that. Sorry I, um, accused you of flirting with Douchebag.”

“If I’m afraid of being with Stefan, I hope you realize how I’d feel about being with Douchebag.”

“I do. I’m sorry.” She looked at her hopefully. “Sisters?”

She smiled and brought her in for a warm hug. “Always and forever.”

“You’re an interesting one.”

Angela shifted in her seat. “Am I?”

Bree smiled at her from behind the bar. “Oh, don’t worry. I won’t out you. But you might want to be careful. Not every witch follows my philosophy of _individuals over species_. Those that don’t probably see you as a wild card. Which means they see you as a threat.”

“Noted. So, I count as a species now?”

“Well, technically you’re a supernatural phenomenon, but,” she waved a hand, “that’s not nearly as catchy.”

She smiled. “No, I guess it isn’t.” She glanced at where Damon and her sister were sitting. “Hey, um, could you do me a favor?”

“Thought I already was.”

“One that isn’t nearly as tedious.” Bree nodded. “Could you tell Damon what I am? He forced the truth out of me a few days ago, but I’m pretty sure he doesn’t believe me.”

“By forced the truth out of you, you mean…”

“He threatened to kill everyone in my town.”

“Ah,” she said lightly. “Good old Damon Salvatore.”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll see what I can do. There’s no guarantee he’ll believe me either, but,” she smirked, “something tells me that even if he does, a part of him will always be in denial.”

She wondered if, considering how bizarre her story was, he would be as disbelieving when confronted with the existence of werewolves. “Good point.”

“You know, if you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you some questions. Reborn souls are extremely rare.”

“I have a question for you too, actually.”

“Just one?”

“For now.”

“Hm. You first.”

“How do you know I’ve been reborn? Do you have to touch me like you do vampires, or do you just look at me and know?”

Bree looked up in thought. “It’s like… there are two versions of you. Whenever I look at you, young and beautiful, I feel like if I look a little harder, if I just dig a little deeper, I can see something totally different. And then I do, and I see an old woman. _That’s_ when I know what you are.”

She straightened in her seat. “What does she look like? The old woman.”

“She looks like you, but about sixty years older.” _Oh._ She deflated. “Still has that pretty little beauty mark above her lip, though. Always wanted one of those. Tried drawing one with eyeliner, but getting it to look the same every time was a royal pain in my ass.”

“What about getting one as a tattoo?”

Bree’s mouth dropped open. “Now, how did I never think of that?”

“Eh,” she shrugged with a secret smile, “I like to think outside the box. Your turn.”

“Okay…” She got more comfortable, leaning against the bar so they would be eye-to-eye. “Do you remember anything from your past life?”

“Some things. I remember things I experienced, but nothing that could help me identify who I used to be. I was… hoping that’s who the old woman was. My previous self.”

She gave her a sad smile. “Sorry, honey.”

“No, it’s probably better this way. I’d have too many people to mourn otherwise. Which is… super sad. Wow. Didn’t mean to ruin the mood.”

“I’m a bartender. It’s my job to listen to sad stories.”

She made an amused noise. “No wonder Cami chose this job.”

“Who?”

“Never mind. Next question.” Her phone ringing interrupted their conversation. It was Caroline, and that confused her. _Did she forget to tell me something?_ “Hey, sorry, mind if I get this?”

“Go ahead. Should probably do my job anyway.”

She walked outside into the dark, evening air to a quieter spot and hit _Accept_. “Hey-”

 _“Angie? Oh my God!”_ The panic in her voice immediately put her on alert.

“What-”

_“There’s a woman! By Wickery Bridge! Someone bit her! She’s bleeding out!”_

Her stomach dropped. “What?”

_“What do I do? What do I- oh my God. There’s so much blood. There’s so much blood, oh my God.”_

“Caroline? Listen to me. I need you to tell me exactly where you are. You said by Wickery Bridge. Which side-”

_“I-I’m on the side closest to the forest, but are you listening to me? She’s dying! Should I call 911? Did one of your friends do this? I swear to God, if one of your friends did this-”_

“No,” she said quickly. “They didn’t. They wouldn’t.” _But Stefan on human blood would._ She couldn’t feel her legs. “Call an ambulance. We’re coming home.” Caroline hung up as soon as the words left her mouth.

She hurried back inside to Bree, who was pouring rum for someone. “Hey,” her eyes widened when she saw her, “are you okay?”

 _Am I ever?_ “We need to go. Now. Can you finish up? Please.”

“What- uh, yeah, okay, give me a minute.”

Angela didn’t bother staying to make sure she did as she was asked and rushed over to her travel buddies. “We’re going home.”

“Did something happen?” Elena asked. “You look pale.”

Her eyes automatically fell onto Damon. “Vampire attack. Caroline might have just seen her first corpse.”

Elena blanched. “Oh my God…”

“Well,” he looked down at how he was clearly not in Mystic Falls, “that might become an issue.”

“I’ll be by the car. Don’t keep me waiting.”

In the seven hours it took for them to get back to Mystic Falls, she had formed about as many plans about what to do as soon as they arrived. They would stop by the motel first, she decided, to be completely sure that none of its supernatural residents were behind what happened to the woman. Then, they would split into two teams.

Elena and Bree would go see Sheila while she and Damon went to the boarding house. If they found Stefan there, safe and under control, they would move onto plan B. If they didn’t, however, Angela would go searching for him while Damon stayed back in case he returned. Was her going out at night, alone, to search for a potentially bloodthirsty vampire a moronic idea? Absolutely. But she wasn’t about to risk Damon making him worse.

She _would_ try to get Anna to come with her, though she wasn’t getting her hopes up. Angela helped her with Pearl and Harper, but it was nothing she wouldn’t have achieved on her own. _She doesn’t have to know that. _Guilt prodded her at the thought, and she found it to be stupid. Stupid and dangerous. She was becoming attached.

As soon as they stopped in front of the neon blue sign that marked the Iron Horse Motel, she all but jumped out of the car.

“Okay.” She faced Bree. “You and my sister are going to Sheila Bennett’s house. Elena knows where it is. Text me if something changes.” She turned to Damon. “You and I are paying Anna’s family a visit. See if they know who did it. If they don’t, I’ll try and get Anna to join us on the search for the attacker. Clear?”

“You know,” he said, “you’re kind of sexy when you’re all in charge like this.” She shot him a heated glare as Bree smacked his shoulder.

“Everything’s clear,” Elena said. “I’ll make sure to update you.”

“Good. I’ll update you too.” _Maybe._ “Let’s go.”

She knocked on the familiar motel room door, faintly hoping that she wasn’t disturbing them. It was two o’clock in the morning, but its residents just so happened to be vampires and normal times didn’t count for them, did they? Anna opened the door with a confused look on her face. Angela felt relief at seeing her in the clothes she’d been wearing that morning.

“What are you doing here?”

“We might have a problem. Can we come in?”

Anna looked behind her shoulder and back at them. She sighed and opened the door further, prompting them to enter.

She didn’t see Harper, but the sight of Pearl wearing silk pajamas and in the process of taking her makeup off was more than enough to make her feel uncomfortable.

“Sorry for barging in like this.”

“What’s the issue?” Pearl asked.

“There was a vampire attack by Wickery Bridge. Around seven o’clock this evening. Do you have any idea who might have done it? Did you see anything?”

Pearl went back to removing her makeup. “Did we do it, you mean.” It wasn’t a question, and Angela’s discomfort deepened.

“Partly. But partly I mean exactly what I asked.”

“Before you visited, we had no idea anybody was attacked. Does that satisfy you? Hello, Damon.”

He smiled, but his eyes were hard. “Hello, Pearl.”

Angela ignored them. “If there’s an unchecked vampire in town it means trouble for everyone. If you’d be willing, Anna’s help in tracking them down would be more than welcome.”

“What do you think, Annabelle?”

“I… think she’s right. You want to co-exist with the people of this town. A vampire going on a rampage would draw suspicion.”

She turned around from the mirror to better view her daughter. “And you would trust them to be alone with you?”

“I would trust Angela. I can take Damon if he tries anything.”

“Alright then. Be careful.”

“Glad to hear you have so much faith in me,” Damon said. “While we’re here, you wouldn’t happen to know where Katherine is, would you? Weren’t you two besties?”

“ _Besties_?” The term seemed to confuse Pearl, and she found it oddly endearing.

Angela smiled. “He means best friends.”

“Ah. I’m unsure as to whether you’ve noticed, but I’ve been entombed for the past one hundred forty-five years. I haven’t been able to keep a very close eye on my… _bestie_.”

“Alright,” he said with a sneer, “then why wasn’t she in the tomb in the first place? Surely you can tell me that much.”

Angela moved to placate him. “Easy. She agreed to help us when she didn’t have to. Show some respect.”

Pearl regarded her with newfound approval in her eyes. “The guard. The one who locked us in. Katherine swore she would turn him if he let her go. She had him under her spell, just like everyone else in this town. He let her go.”

He blinked. “But if she was free this whole time, why didn’t she come back? She fed us her blood, she knew we might’ve turned. Why didn’t she come back?”

“Because she didn’t care,” Anna said, and his eyes snapped to her. “I saw her in 1983, in Chicago. She knew where you were. She didn’t care, Damon.”

The water that caused his eyes to shine made her glance at the floor. What she had told Stefan was the truth. She couldn’t care about Damon in practice yet, but the Damon that was in front of her right then and there was the one she cared about in theory.

“I don’t believe you.”

“You don’t have to.” Angela made sure she wasn’t looking at him in pity. He wouldn’t like that. “She can tell you herself. All you have to do is wait. What’s one year when you’ve been waiting a hundred and forty-five?” He clenched his jaw. She sighed. “Look. We need to find whoever was behind this attack. They pose a threat to all of us.”

Anna nodded. “Agreed.”

“Damon. Would you be willing to stay at the boarding house in case your possibly-hopped-up-on-human-blood brother comes back and needs to be subdued?”

He chuckled humorlessly. “You want to leave me behind?”

 _Yes._ “No. It’s a genuine possibility we need to prepare for and you’re the best candidate for the job. I don’t know where the dungeons are and I don’t have any vervain needles on me. You can easily snap his neck and lock him up. Though we should probably visit it together first, in case he’s there and totally fine.”

“What am I doing?” Anna asked.

“If Stefan isn’t at home, then you and I are going out to look for him. But you should stay hidden. Even if it isn’t him who’s behind this, I’m a walking, talking blood bag. In other words, I’m bait. If I’m attacked, you’ll jump out and snap the vampire’s neck so we can interrogate them, but only if I’m attacked. Does anybody have any questions? Or a better plan?”

Damon smirked, but it looked sad. “Guess you’re the brains of the group.”

“Or any snide remarks.”

“It was a compliment.”

She blinked. “Oh… um… thank you.”

“I don’t have anything to add,” Anna said.

“Right.” She shook herself out of her shock. “Okay. Let’s go.”

Because things could never be easy, Stefan wasn’t at the boarding house. Zach was, however, and greeted her with immense, bleary-eyed confusion. She decided that was a talk for another time.

Caroline had said that the woman was on the side closest to the forest, which led her to believe that Stefan was out hunting, the victim wandered too close, and he lost control and bit her. Which also meant that, hopefully, he was still in the forest alone. _Or he could be binging on the junkies that hang out at the cemetery_. Channeling her inner Caroline Forbes, she did her best to not think about that possibility and stay optimistic.

One downside to wandering around in the forest at nighttime was that it was dark. Like, _really_ dark. And because she was an idiot, she hadn’t accounted for that. Which meant that in 2009, where having a flashlight in your cell phone wasn’t the norm, she was forced to use the tiny screen of her BlackBerry so she wouldn’t trip and fall to her death. She glanced up at the trees, where Anna was following, and felt envious of her ability to see in the dark.

A twig snapped.

She whirled to her right and held up her phone. Her eyes searched the area, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. Still, the point of this whole thing was to draw the vampire out, so with a deep, steadying breath, she began walking in the direction of the noise.

She glanced behind her. She could no longer see the road, and though she knew she was under the protective gaze of a five-hundred-year-old vampire, she couldn’t help but feel nervous.

There was a noise that made her hair stand on end. It was rough and shaky, and if she didn’t know any better she would say that it was the laugh of a smoker. _You’re in nature. Weird noises happen in nature all the time. Calm down._ But maybe she shouldn’t calm down. Maybe the loud thumping of her heart would help lure the vampire.

 _It was definitely a laugh. The vampire’s toying with you. They snapped the twig- it snapped the twig. _She couldn’t think of it as sentient. It would be easier to be afraid if she saw it as an entity that was entirely other.

_It snapped the twig to freak you out. It laughed to freak you out. Dad said that creatures like it enjoy playing with their food. It might throw something against a tree next. It’ll be loud. When will it happen? Where will it happen? BANG._

She came across a structure. Through the dim light her screen emitted, she saw that it seemed to be the base of something larger, though the larger portion had been cut off. She angled her phone differently and saw another, similar structure some feet away. _An old archway?_

Walking around the area revealed other structures like it. There was a large, stone emblem sitting atop a brick column, a stone bench, and the marble base of what might have once been a fountain. She knew what these were: ruins. But which ruins were they?

A twig snapped.

She whirled around, and the earth fell beneath her feet when she saw the black silhouette of a man standing in front of her. He was taller than her and his hair was short, but she couldn’t make out any discernable features.

He started walking, and whenever she took a step back, he took a step forward, matching her movements proficiently. Had she wanted to be poetic at that moment, she would have called what they were taking part in a delicate dance. As it was, all she wanted to do was run away.

The back of her knees hit the edge of a structure, and she nearly fell over. Her hands automatically shot back to steady herself, and she almost whined like a dog when her phone dropped to the ground. The man came closer and she realized she couldn’t breathe. _Did I work myself up to a panic attack? Did I seriously work myself up to a panic attack? What is wrong with me?_

“Angie?”

That voice was familiar. The man reached down to grab her phone, and when he angled it so the side of their faces could be illuminated, she brought a hand up to her throat as she gasped for air.

“Oh my God. Oh my God. You’re such an asshole. You are such an asshole, I can’t believe you did that. I cannot believe you just did that.”

Stefan’s eyes were tight. “What are you doing here?”

“What am _I_ doing here?”

“You should go.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said you should go.”

She furrowed her eyebrows. “Have you been here since Friday morning?”

He clenched his jaw and turned away. “Angie. Everything’s fine. Please just leave.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” She moved to catch a glimpse of his face, but by the time he turned away again it was too late. She had seen the veins beneath his eyes. “You don’t have to hide from me.” She reached a hand up to touch him, but stopped herself at the last second. She didn’t know if it would make things harder for him. “I fed you my blood, knowing full well what it would do to you. Please don’t feel like you have to hide from me.”

His body was rigid, and it seemed to her like he was trying not to breathe; trying not to smell her blood. Slowly, he turned back around. Using the light of her phone, she could see the dark color that filled his eyes; the veins pumping below them; the fact that he had to keep his mouth open so he wouldn’t pierce himself with his fangs. She knew it should have frightened her. She knew it should have made her want to run as far away as she could. But to her, that face was just Stefan.

He was looking at her as if he expected her to begin screaming. As if he would deserve it. When she simply continued to stare, he became confused. “Why won’t you leave?”

“Because I care about you.” She walked to the bench and sat down. “And I don’t want to leave you alone unless I’m sure you’ll be okay.” She silently prompted him to join her, but he remained standing.

“Yes. I’ve been here since Friday morning. I’ve isolated myself in the forest because Zach lives at the boarding house and I can’t stand to be around his scent for more than five minutes.” The way he was talking led her to believe that he was trying to frighten her into going away. “Because if I try to purge the taste of human blood from my mouth by drinking from nothing but animals I might actually stand a chance of recovery. As long as I can smell your blood it will be a constant source of temptation, and I could _hurt_ you. Do you not understand that I could hurt you?”

“You could try. I have vervain in my system. If you drink from me, you’ll burn.” That was a good idea, actually. She made a mental note to keep a vial or two of the stuff on her person from now on.

He scoffed. “I’m beginning to think you have a death wish.”

“You’ve been in here for three full days, Stefan. The way you feel around me right now, is it better or worse than when you first isolated yourself?” His mouth opened and closed. “The same? Has anything changed at all other than your rapidly declining quality of life?”

“If it was that easy to bring myself back from the edge, I wouldn’t have a blood problem. These things take time, and effort, and determination that can’t afford temptation.”

“And I understand that.” She stood, walking until she had to tilt her head to look him in the eye. “But other than Lexi, have you ever had someone to help you through this? Even a… source of temptation? Have you tried to see if it would work?” He stayed silent, and she offered him a gentle smile. “Can I try something? If you absolutely can’t stand it, I’ll stop.”

“Because _that_ doesn’t sound ominous.”

Her smile widened. “Oh, you’re being a smartass! That’s good. It means I’m helping.”

He let out an amused breath, and when he said nothing, she took it as consent. Slowly, so he had time to stop her, she raised a hand. He stiffened when it reached the height of his face, and stiffened further when she laid it on his cheek. His eyes were locked on her wrist.

“Are you listening to me?” she asked. His nod was tiny. “Good. Now keep listening. Under the skin you see lies poison. If you bite into it, you won’t feel euphoria. You won’t feel the rush that comes with tasting human blood. Your tongue will burn. Your mouth will burn. Your throat will burn, and it will taste as foul as gasoline. It will feel like sandpaper grating against your throat as it tears it to shreds.

“Still listening?” Nod. “The scent is a trap. It’s meant to draw you in and hurt you. You can’t let it hurt you. If you let it hurt you, if you don’t resist the urge, you’ll be in such terrible pain that you won’t know what to do with yourself. You’ll do anything to get it to stop, but it won’t. The burning, grating pain will never stop, and you’ll never feel euphoria again. I don’t think either of us want that. Do we?”

“No. We don’t.”

Her lips twitched. “No, we don’t.”

When he smiled with his mouth closed, she realized that his fangs were gone; that the veins had faded away, and that he was looking at her in a way that frightened her far more than his other face ever had.

She quickly pulled her hand away. “I think it worked.”

“Yeah,” he said softly. “I think it did.”

She bit the inside of her lip, unsure of what to say.

“So if-”

“Should we-”

They stared at each other for a long, silent moment before the giggles burst forth.

“Sorry.” He brought a hand up to his smiling mouth. “You go first.”

She cleared her throat and tried to stop grinning. “I was going to ask if you think it’d be a good idea for us to head home. It’s really late and we could both use some sleep.”

“Pretty sure it’s really _early_.”

“I’m glad to know I helped, even if now I have to deal with the much more insufferable sassy version of you.”

“You like the sassy version of me.”

“I’m not responding to that.”

“Hey, actually, what were you doing out here in the first place?” That wiped the grin from her mouth.

“There was a vampire attack. Caroline found a woman, half dead, by Wickery Bridge. Do you know anything about it?”

He was frowning, and she felt an odd instinct to smooth the line that appeared on his forehead. “Damon’s probably behind it. I’ve tried to stop him, but-”

“Believe it or not, Damon’s the one vampire I’m positive didn’t do it. He was with me and Elena all day.”

His eyebrows rose. “And what exactly were you doing with Damon all day?”

“Why? Are you jealous?” Her eyes widened and she slapped a hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry. That was really inappropriate.”

His shoulders shook with silent laughter. “To be fair, I think we pretty much, ah, _leapt_ over inappropriate on Thursday night.”

Her face burned hotter than the nonexistent vervain in his mouth. “I thought you didn’t want me to feel uncomfortable!”

He glanced down and nodded, expression turning serious. “Right. You’re right. I’m sorry. I have no idea who attacked her.”

She huffed in an effort to calm down. “Well, whoever it was, they’re still out there. What do you say-” Her phone buzzed in her hand.

_Lesser Twin: Bree wants u_

She barely restrained a groan. “Great. Anna. Please come down here.” Anna immediately jumped down in front of them, looking somewhere between mildly annoyed and deeply amused. Stefan clearly hadn’t been expecting her arrival, as his hands shot out of his pockets. “I have to go take care of something. Would you two be willing to comb the area without me?”

Anna nodded. “Shouldn’t be too hard.” Her eyes moved to Stefan. “I’ll go west, you go east?”

“Uh… yeah. That works.”

Angela shot them a tight smile. “Wonderful. Anna, you already have my number. Stefan, let me give it to you in case you find the vampire.” After a quick exchange, she put her phone back up so she could see him. “Be careful.”

His eyes were soft in a way she didn’t want to think about. “You too.”

West was the direction she had to go to reach the road, and Anna had been kind enough to offer to be her escort. Or perhaps it wasn’t kindness at all that was behind her actions. Perhaps, instead, it was curiosity.

“You have feelings for him.”

Angela nearly tripped. She looked at her with wide eyes. “What?”

“Do you deny it?”

“I-I mean… what does it matter? I don’t need him like my sister does.”

“Solid relationships aren’t built on need. Take it from someone my age.”

She scrutinized her. “Didn’t take you for the gossiping type.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I enjoy working from the shadows. It helps me gather information without giving anything away. But every now and then, it’s fun to give things away.” Her lips twitched. “Especially to people that are easily flustered.”

“I am _not_ easily flustered.”

“I can smell the amount of blood rushing to your cheeks.”

She glared. “Did you only come along so you could torture me?”

“No. I also came along because you’re a valuable ally who’s frustratingly fragile.”

“And insult me.”

“It’s the truth and you know it.”

She sighed and moved some hair behind her shoulder. “You’re right. It is.”

She could see Anna watching her out the corner of her eye. “I wasn’t expecting that from you. Asking for our blood. Are you really okay with the possibility of becoming like us?”

“Vampirism sounds terrible if you can’t control your hunger or walk in the sun, but… I need to stay alive in this world, no matter what it takes. For my siblings, mainly, but also for the people I want to save.”

“Such as?”

“Such as Sheila. And your family. You’re not out of the woods yet.” Ironically enough, it was then that they reached the road. “I’ll be fine from here. You should go.”

“Don’t get killed. The last thing I need is a newbie vampire on my hands.”

“Why would I be on your hands?”

“An eye for an eye. You’re helping my mother more than I thought possible.” She smiled. “And I never forget a thing.”

Bonnie greeted her at the door. “Hey… She’s with Grams.”

She walked in and observed her for a moment. “You look better.”

“Yeeaah, Caroline kinda forced me to take a nap. And a shower.”

She gently squeezed her shoulder. “We’ll fix this, Bonnie. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Believe me, if there’s anyone I trust to fix this, it’s you.”

She found Bree standing by Sheila’s bed and she looked up when they entered the room. Elena was sitting in the armchair.

“Hey,” Bree said. She gestured towards Sheila with a shake of the head. “She’s in a coma. More specifically, one that can only be undone by the bloodline that caused it. I’m told that young little miss Bon-Bon over here can’t do magic yet, which is probably why her ancestors did it in the first place. They wanted complete control over whether or not she wakes up.”

Her eyebrows furrowed. “But that doesn’t make any sense. I woke her up shortly after she collapsed. If she was in a coma, how could I possibly do that?”

She shrugged. “Maybe one of her ancestors tried to prevent it. Don’t matter now.” She addressed Bonnie. “Do you have any relatives that practice?”

“My mom, but I already tried calling her. She must have changed her number.”

“Mm. My advice? Compel your way into a hospital until your magic awakens. She needs food and water that you can’t give her without medical equipment.”

“I don’t want a vampire going anywhere near her.”

“Then let her die.”

Angela felt her mouth drop open.

Bree’s eyes softened. “Honey… unless you want to become a bitter, hateful person, you’re gonna have to learn, sooner or later, that that feeling you get whenever you touch a vampire? That cold, terrible, sinking feeling? It’s bullshit.

“One of my best friends is a vampire, and she’s just about the kindest, funniest, most badass bitch I’ve ever met. On the other hand, witches put your grams in a coma because they didn’t like her thinking for herself. There’s good and bad in every species. You can’t let anything but your own mind decide who’s what.”

Bree shrugged. “At the end of the day, it’s up to you. But if you honestly want her to live, that’s your best shot.”

Bonnie looked like she was trying not to cry. She glanced at Elena first, then at Angela, and finally at Sheila. She drew a deep breath and nodded.

“Tell Anna to meet us at the hospital.”

It was pushing three o’clock by the time they got Sheila into the intensive care unit.

Anna and Stefan didn’t have any luck with finding whoever it was that attacked the woman, and they all decided they would try again tomorrow. Angela would visit Liz Forbes and convince her to let her see the victim in order to ask her some questions, while the vamps did some “convincing” of their own around town.

Angela dropped onto Sheila’s couch. “I’m beat.”

Elena chuckled. “Tell me about it. Think I’ll stay here tonight. Bonnie needs a friend.”

“Mm, good idea.”

“Today was…” She trailed off, as if trying to find the right word.

“Long? Crazy? Extremely, unbelievably draining and made me want an entire week off the face of the earth?”

“I was going to say fun.”

She lifted her head to look at her like she was insane. “ _Fun_?”

There was a small smile on her lips. “Yeah. I mean, apart from how worried I was about Ms. Sheila. How worried I _am_.”

“Right,” she stood, “it was nice having a sister, but you’ve clearly gone senile.”

Elena laughed and smacked her legs with a pillow. “No, I’m serious. I mean, how long has it been since we went on a road trip? Since we went to a bar where no one knew us and did shots with strangers? We travelled to a different state on the search for a witch to help us, like something out of an adventure movie. There was something… I don’t know… _exhilarating_ about today.”

“Elena. I think you need to sleep.”

She pushed herself off the couch with a loud sigh. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” She gave her a tired hug. “Give Jer a kiss on the cheek for me before you go to bed.”

“Will do.”

“Are you leaving?”

Angela pulled back to see Bonnie. “I am. Lena’s staying with you.”

“Can I talk to you for a second? Before you go?”

“Uh, yeah. Of course.” Bonnie guided her to her bedroom and gently shut the door. “What’s up?”

She shrugged with a smile. “I just wanted to say thank you. You didn’t have to go all the way to Atlanta for me, and I can’t imagine being stuck with the source of your trauma for sixteen hours was too much fun.”

“No, no, don’t mention it. Like, _ever_.” They chuckled, and she ran a loving hand through her hair. “You were right when you said we were sisters. There’s little I wouldn’t do for you, bunny.”

She scrunched her nose. “Thought you said you’d never call me that again.”

“You threatened me with a knife.”

“A _plastic_ knife. And we were eleven.”

“Weirdly enough, it’s way scarier when it’s a little kid pointing the knife at you.”

Her eyes went wide. “You mean I’m not the only person who’s threatened you with a knife?”

“I… maybe used to have a drug dealer in my previous life. Had a bit of an altercation when I cut them off.”

“Are you being serious?”

She grinned. “Absolutely.”

“Oh my _God_!”

The laugh that left her was loud. “I’ll tell you all about the mischief I used to get up to some other time.” She opened the door. “Right now, I think I’ll just stick to collapsing onto my bed.”

She was still looking at her oddly. “Good idea. Have to get up early tomorrow.”

Angela was going to ask why, but then she groaned in realization.

Really, of all the days to go on a cross-state road trip, try to keep Elena safe around Damon, attempt to hunt a vampire, help Stefan control his urges, and get Sheila to the hospital, it _had_ to be the one before a Monday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Question: What was your favorite scene (or scenes) from this chapter? Mine was probably Angela searching for the vampire in the woods because I love spooky shit and I could clearly see it in my mind while writing it.


	9. Team

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: 2 mentions of the r-word. The character using it and the fact that they’re using it are very clearly shown in a negative light, and it’s a very minor character you’ve never seen before. There’s a period before the dialogue paragraphs it’s used if you want to skip them. Ex: . She said, “Yes.”
> 
> BREAKING NEWS: Idk if you’ve noticed, but the relationship tags got updatedddd. Lemme know what you think.
> 
> Dude this chapter did not want to be written. I must’ve written like three long scenes that I later read over and was like, “yeah no you know what this sucks,” and just trashed them. It’s finally done though, so yay! It's a bit of a slower one, but I hope you enjoy it :)

**CHAPTER 8**

**_TEAM_ **

“Shit, shit, shit… Fuck!”

Angela nearly fell down during her attempt to shimmy into her black pants, but saved herself at the last second. Her hand shot out to grab the black, sweetheart neckline shirt she had thrown onto the bed and pulled it over her head. _7:50. Ten minutes. Do I have time to do my makeup?_

If it was any other day, she wouldn’t care about being late, but today was William Tanner’s memorial. And because Principal Torres obviously hated her, it would be taking place before classes instead of after. She didn’t have time to do her makeup, she decided, but since deep down she was a vain creature, she would bring it with her to apply at school.

“You okay in there?” Jenna’s voice came through the door.

“Nope!” She hurriedly put on her silver choker. “I’m gonna be late!”

Jenna entered the room and wasted no time in going to the shoe rack. “Which ones you wearing?”

“Black booties.”

“Grab your stuff and sit on the bed.”

Angela did as she was told. Jenna dropped the shoes by her feet, and they both got to work on completing her outfit. She glanced at the alarm clock. The _traitorous_ alarm clock that had allowed her to turn it off in her sleep. _7:53._

Jenna finished doing her part and stood, fingers wiggling as she turned to the closet. “Jacket.” She rushed over. “We going for all black?”

“No, get the denim one.”

Jenna found it, and Angela raised her hands in a signal to throw it to her. Glancing at the full-length mirror in front of her, she could see that the outfit’s color made her light skin look like it belonged to a corpse, but she knew that once she put her makeup on everything would come together.

She stuffed her supplies into her bag and rushed out the door, planting a sloppy kiss on Jenna’s cheek in the process. “Thank you!”

“Don’t fall asleep in class!”

She sprinted to her car and succeeded in getting the keys out of her bag, but before she could do anything with them, they slipped through her fingers and fell to the ground.

“Oh, come on!”

“Need some help?”

She squealed and turned around to find Anna standing there, looking like she was trying hard not to laugh. She instinctively glared at how much delight she seemed to derive from her misery, but then she realized something. “Annabelle Zhu, I could marry you right now.”

“What?”

“Could you whoosh me to school real quick? I’m running late and super duper can’t afford to. I know I’ve been asking a lot of you lately and I totally get if you don’t want to do this, but—”

“Chill. I’ll give you a lift. I was planning on scoping out the place anyway. I’ve been telling Mother about the modern education system, and if we’re going to be living here, it’d be a good idea for me to enroll.”

Her shoulders slumped in relief. “Thank you.” She nodded towards Anna’s hand. “We should do this now, when we aren’t surrounded by people.”

“Yeah, probably.” Her other face came forth to bite her wrist, and she brought it up for Angela to take.

She honestly didn’t think she would ever get used to drinking vampire blood first thing in the morning, but the taste of Anna’s wasn’t wholly unpleasant, and she knew it was a smart thing to do, so she did it anyway.

She wiped a few drops of bittersweet liquid from her lips. “Thank you.”

Anna grabbed her biceps. “Ready?”

She shut her eyes so she wouldn’t get nauseous. “Ready.”

Angela was expecting the world to shift, but she wasn’t expecting to be thrown up against the side of the house. Her eyes flew open with a gasp as pain exploded in her arms.

“Are you stupid?” Anna hissed. She twisted her arms harder, making her choke on a cry. “You’ve known me for less than a week and act like you can trust me. You close your eyes and believe I’ll take you to school like you’re not making kidnapping you the easiest thing in the world. Want some advice on how to stop being fragile? Always assume the worst of people. Always prepare for the worst. Did you prepare for me attacking you like this?”

“I didn’t think— ah!” Anna twisted her arms.

“No, you didn’t think. That’s my point. You can’t afford not to think.” She released her and stepped back, allowing her to turn so they were face-to-face. “You’re a human going up against dead witches and vampires more than thirty times older than you. Act like it.”

Her first instinct was to react in outrage, but she knew that Anna was right. She took a long, deep breath to calm herself and asked, “What do you suggest I do?”

“Carry a weapon with you at all times, for starters. Somewhere easy to reach. And learn how to use it. Do you have any stakes in that bag?”

“One.”

“Let me take a look. See if it’s sharp enough.”

Half expecting Anna to throw her up against the house for being too naïve again, she reached into her bag and brought it out. It was more than sharp enough. A full month of whittling stakes every day had trained her to become an expert by the age of twelve. It was the only thing related to vampires Grayson ever let her do, and she’d been glad not to have to hide it.

“Not bad,” Anna said. “But are you strong enough to take someone on?”

“Caroline’s training me.”

“Caroline’s human. You’re not going up against humans.”

“Well once I’m strong enough to go up against humans, I’ll move on to actually training with vampires. How does _that_ sound?”

“A bit snippy.” There was a teasing tone to her words that instantly diffused the remaining tension.

Angela breathed a laugh and put the stake away. “I appreciate your advice, but can we continue this conversation another time? I genuinely can’t be late today.”

Anna grabbed her biceps. “Hold on.”

Angela shut her eyes, and when wind hit her face, she knew they were moving. A moment later her stomach lurched and she could make out sound again, so she blinked her eyes open to find they had stopped in front of Mystic Falls High School.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. But I’m not your lapdog. Or your chauffeur. Don’t ask me to do something unless it’s beneficial for all of us.”

She nodded. “Absolutely.”

The bell rang.

Anna smiled. It was a wide smile, and one that made her look the age her body was frozen at. “Start running.”

She did.

The memorial was surprisingly underwhelming. She had expected the familiar blade of guilt to stab her, but all it did was fill her with determination. She didn’t manage to save Tanner and she didn’t manage to save her parents, but she _would_ save Sheila. She _would_ save Pearl, Anna, and Harper. Failure wasn’t an option. Not when the only mother figure she had left was stuck in the hospital until Bonnie’s magic awakened. Not for the first time, she thought of how much easier things would be had she been reborn a Bennett.

“She’s seriously gonna enroll?” Caroline pushed her locker shut with a pout. “Ugh. A vampire in my high school. Why couldn’t she be a guy? At least then I’d get to be tortured by my forbidden fantasies about him.”

Elena chuckled. “Good to know your priorities haven’t changed.”

“Yeah, well, not all of us have hot Salvatore men lining up at our door, Elena.” Those words were bitter, and they surprised her.

They must have surprised Elena, too. “What do you mean?”

“…Never mind. I’m just not happy about the Anna situation.”

Angela didn’t believe her, but decided not to pry. “You’ve never met her. She’s not a bad person.”

“Maybe not compared to Douchebag, but she’s still one of them.”

“Does it really matter?” Elena asked. “I mean, isn’t condemning an entire species kind of… I don’t know, racist? Or something?” She found that curious, considering the talk they had yesterday. She wondered if it was because of what Bree told Bonnie.

Caroline rolled her eyes. “I’ve only ever heard stories about how evil they are. And all they’ve done so far is prove them right.”

That reminded her. “Did your mom say what happened to that woman?”

“Just that she’ll live. Which is good. God, I don’t think I’ll ever forget the fear in her eyes.”

“I’m sorry you had to see that, Care-bear.”

“At least someone is.”

 _What’s that supposed to mean?_ “Well, maybe whoever attacked that woman hasn’t disproven the stories you’ve heard, but—”

“And Douchebag.”

“And Douchebag, but—”

“And whoever killed your parents.”

“ _And_ whoever killed our parents. But Anna hasn’t been evil. If anything, she’s been pretty generous. Especially yesterday.”

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t tell you, did I?”

“No?”

“Wait,” Elena said. “When would you have told her? You barely made it in time for the memorial.”

“She called me last night,” Caroline said. “To ask if I was doing okay. So, what happened?”

“Remember how I said we got Ms. Sheila to the hospital before she could starve to death? Since the doctors wouldn’t see anything physically wrong with her and Bonnie’s dad would probably be notified, Bree thought it best to compel our way in. Enter Anna.”

Caroline narrowed her eyes skeptically. “She did that out of the kindness of her heart?”

“Elena’s right. You can’t condemn an entire species because of stories written by people that never tried to understand it.”

“Hm… I want to meet her. See if I get a bad vibe. Should we meet up for lunch? Oh, but she can’t walk in the sun, can she? Because she’s a vampire.” For some reason, she didn’t correct her. “Dinner then?” Her eyes went wide. “Ooh! Maybe we could meet her entire family! I don’t even know what they look like!”

She’d been thinking of arranging a meeting between them all anyway. “You know what? That’s a really good idea. I’ll text her. Ask if they’d be willing to meet us after sundown.”

“I don’t think you’ll have any major issues,” Elena said. “She and I didn’t get to talk much, but she seemed nice enough.”

Caroline scoffed. “I’m sure she did.”

Elena frowned. “Okay. What’s wrong?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the fact that only Angie called last night to see if I was okay.”

“Elena was taking care of Bonnie,” Angela said. “I was just alone long enough to remember you were affected too.”

“Exactly! Elena and Bonnie were together all night. And neither of them thought to call me.”

“That’s unfair.” Elena looked mildly hurt. “It was three in the morning. I didn’t want to bother you.”

“You had an entire seven-hour car ride to call me! Besides, Angie didn’t want to bother me either. She texted first, to see if I was sleeping. Which I wasn’t, by the way. She’s considerate like that. She even forced herself to spend all day with the creature that traumatized her for Ms. Sheila’s sake. Though I doubt _you’d_ understand, since you had so much ‘fun’ with him.”

 _Oh, Jesus Christ._ “Caroline—”

“Are you implying something?” Elena asked. “Because if you’re implying that I felt anything other than disdain for him, you don’t know me at all.”

“Actually, I think I know you too well. You said he was hot, didn’t you?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“That maybe I’m not the only one capable of fantasizing about vampires.”

Elena’s eyes flashed with anger. “This might be difficult for you to understand, but unlike you, I don’t obsess over every guy I see.”

“Elena—”

Caroline laughed humorlessly. “There it is! Finally. Tell me how you really feel.”

“Hey!” Tyler came up to them with a smile, but it dropped when he noticed the tension. “What’s going on?”

“ _Nothing_.” They continued to glare at each other, and Angela rubbed her forehead in exasperation.

Tyler’s eyebrows rose. “Uh… okay? Shouldn’t we get to class? Where’s the Bonster?”

“Stayed at home,” Elena said. “She was emotionally exhausted. I offered to stay with her, because I’m a good friend.”

Caroline smiled sarcastically. “Of course you are.”

Tyler shot Angela a questioning look. “What happened?”

“Something that could have been handled better wasn’t. You’re two of the most popular girls in school and you’re fighting in the middle of the hallway. This is a bad look for both of you.”

“Like you care about popularity,” Caroline said.

She didn’t take the bait. “I don’t. But you do, and I care about you. So please stop, before someone hears us talking about vampires.”

“What about vampires?” Tyler asked.

“Anna’s gonna be enrolling. A concept that displeases Caroline.”

“Can you blame me?” she asked fiercely. “Vampires are horrible. They completely ruined any chance of me enjoying _Twilight_.”

Angela sighed. “Look. Yesterday was taxing for all of us.” Caroline opened her mouth to say something, but she didn’t let her. “For _all_ of us. You witnessed the most graphic injury you’ve ever seen, and it affected you. Emotions are still high. I get it, and I’m sure Elena does too. But antagonizing her because of a slight difference in personality isn’t fair. As for you,” she addressed her sister, “you should know by now that when Caroline gets like this, it’s because she’s trying not to break down. Antagonizing her back isn’t the right move. Hugging her is.”

Elena clenched her jaw, but her voice was calm when she spoke. “What you said hurt me. That I would be selfish and cruel enough to want Damon after what he did to Angie.”

“The fact that you didn’t even text last night hurt _me_.”

“And I’m sorry I didn’t. I should’ve remembered. I should’ve been a better friend.”

Caroline deflated a bit. “I’m… sorry I said what I said.”

“I’ll forgive you if you forgive me.”

“…Deal.” Caroline allowed herself to be pulled into a hug, and Angela allowed herself to relax.

Tyler cleared his throat. “So, now that we’re late as hell, should we head to class or just skip the day? ‘Cause I’m down for skipping.”

Angela snorted. “You’re always down for skipping.”

“We can’t skip,” Caroline said. “Tryouts are today.”

“You always did like judging tryouts more than me,” Elena mumbled into her shoulder.

“Mm, not my fault you can’t see the fun in crushing people’s hopes and dreams.”

Elena pulled away with a laugh. “God, how’d I end up best friends with a sadist?”

“ _Sisters_ with a sadist,” Angela said. “We’re all part of a weird, semi-incestuous family, remember?”

Tyler scrunched his nose. “Don’t remind me. My family’s fucked up as it is.”

“All our families are fucked up. Our parents are dead, Bonnie’s mom abandoned her, your dad’s an utter dick, and Caroline’s dad liked ‘moving furniture’ more than he did his wife.”

“Okay, pulling the dead parents card is unfair.”

“Bite me, Lockwood.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“Maybe it is.”

“Maybe,” Elena said, “we’re all a match made in heaven.”

“Agreed.”

Caroline frowned. “Hey… I could’ve sworn I was furious a second ago.”

Tyler snorted. “Welcome to my life.”

Angela brought a hand up and wiggled her fingers. “Angela Gilbert’s magic touch strikes again!” And as Caroline rolled her eyes and dragged her to English class, she hoped it would continue to strike. If it didn’t, it could very well mean her death.

Before second period started, she checked to see if Anna had gotten back to her. She’d sent her a text shortly after Caroline brought it up. When she snuck her phone out of her jacket, however, the first thing she saw was a text from an unknown number. Attached to it was an address.

_Angela,_

_We have found a home in which to stay and will be moved in by the end of this week. Please meet us at seven o’clock on Saturday for dinner. I too think it time for introductions._

_Pearl._

She didn’t think she’d ever received a text so formal in her life. Still, it would feel odd not to match her tone.

_Pearl,_

_Thank you for your invitation. It would be an honor to join you. I wish you and yours the best until then._

_Angela._

She forwarded the message to the MFM group chat and made it clear that skipping wasn’t an option.

When she entered History class, she became aware of two things. That Stefan wasn’t there, and that neither was Alaric. There was a moment where her heart stopped, thinking that the woman behind the desk was Tanner’s permanent replacement, but then she introduced herself as their substitute and her heart began beating again.

She decided years ago that Alaric never showing up wouldn’t mean the end of the world, but she needed as many allies as she could get. And he would be a very easy ally to get. Not to mention that she didn’t want to ask John, of all people, to teach her how to hunt vampires. She was sure he would accept since Grayson was no longer around to stop him, but she hated her family’s view on vampires, and John’s personality was insufferable.

She hadn’t had a lot of time to practice for her audition—considering when she finally decided on Beatrice’s monologue from Act 3 of _Much Ado About Nothing_ she’d had half a day before her, Elena, and Damon’s impromptu road trip—so she decided to spend Lunch outside, beneath the cloudy sky, where she could memorize it in peace.

She turned the corner to claim the school’s most isolated picnic table before any of the emo kids could, but stopped in her tracks when she saw Stefan sitting on it. His head snapped up from the book he was reading, and he seemed as surprised to see her as she was him.

“Um… hi,” she said awkwardly.

“Hi…”

She watched him set the book down. “Sorry. I can go if you want.”

“No. No, please,” he gestured next to him, “sit.”

“If you’re sure…” She climbed up and made herself comfortable. “I didn’t see you in class today. Didn’t realize you were here.”

“I wasn’t. I just got here a few minutes ago. I wasn’t planning on coming since I didn’t know how being around so many humans would affect me, but,” he flicked his eyebrows sarcastically, “that all changed as soon as Damon and Bree decided to go for round fifty.”

The mental image that evoked filled her with disgust. “Oh, _God_.”

“Tell me about it.”

She shook her head to rid it of the naked Damon. “How are you holding up? Better than last night?”

“Kind of. I don’t feel like ripping your throat out anymore.”

“That’s good. I like this necklace. It’d be a shame to get blood all over it.” She said it in an attempt to make him smile, but all it did was make him stare at her neck for too long. “So!” His eyes snapped back to hers. “Did you sleep well? Considering both Zach and Bree were in the house with you.”

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I slept alright. Actually, whenever I felt a, uh, _urge_ , I focused on what you said. That their blood is poison. I already knew that Zach was on vervain, and it wasn’t too hard to imagine Bree casting a spell that made her blood burn me. It helped me control myself.”

Hope ran through her like lightning. “Really? Do you think that technique might work long-term?”

“It’s worth a shot.”

“That’s amazing!” Then he did smile, and the sight of it warmed her heart.

“Did _you_ sleep well? You got home pretty late.”

“That makes it sound like you followed me there.” When he said nothing, her eyebrows rose. “Stefan. Did you follow me home last night?”

“There was an unknown vampire on the loose. I couldn’t let you go home without any protection.”

She didn’t know whether to be touched or unnerved. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yeah, well… you didn’t have to stay with me in the forest.”

“Of course I did. You were struggling because of me. I couldn’t leave you alone without trying to help first.”

He chuckled. “You do realize you just gave the same argument I did.”

“No, I—” _I kind of did, didn’t I?_ “Shut up.”

“Wow. Add _that_ to the history books.”

She bit back a grin. “Why do we need history books when we have your diaries? Or do you not want people finding out you’re the world’s most prolific bunny killer?” She said it in an attempt to make him laugh, but all it did was stun him to silence. She wondered why until she realized he never told her about his journals.

“I heard Bree tell Damon something last night. That you were reincarnated. He was skeptical, to say the least.”

 _Oh. Right._ “And what about you?”

“You want the truth, right?”

“Always.”

“I think it might just be the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.” She’d been prepared for him to say something along those lines, yet it still disappointed her. “Then again, over a century ago, the existence of vampires was unfathomable to me. And now I am one.”

She smiled and hoped it didn’t look too sad. “You don’t have to sugarcoat it for me.”

“I’m not. It really would make sense, considering…” He furrowed his eyebrows, and that line appeared on his forehead. “Do you know what I was doing this past summer?”

The change of topic confused her, but still she said, “You were watching Elena. To make sure she wasn’t Katherine. Because they look exactly the same.”

He let out an astonished breath. “Yeah. I was. But I was also watching you.”

“Me?”

“I was there. The day your parents died. I was hunting in the woods. There was a party going on nearby and I had strayed pretty far in, but I could still hear the music. It cut off, so I listened in to make sure everyone was fine, and I heard who I now know to be Caroline say that something happened to a girl named Elena. Something serious. A few people said they were going to go to her house, and I decided to follow in case there was anything I could do to help.

“When I saw her face…” He shook his head. “I don’t know if I can describe it. It was like everything I’ve ever known was torn down in a single second. The sheriff came out of the house with you in her arms, and I gathered what happened. The state of you almost broke my heart. You were so young. You _looked_ so young. It was a painful reminder of how cruel this world can be.

“Elena was what made me stay. But in addition to making sure she wasn’t Katherine, I had to make sure you would recover. I was fully prepared to try and compel you if I had to. This world can be cruel, but I had the power to help in this one instance… or try to help. But you recovered all on your own. Over the course of three months, I watched you put yourself back together piece by piece and be an amazing sister to your siblings. An amazing friend to your friends. An amazing niece to your aunt. An amazing person in a world as cruel as this one.

“But no matter how hard I tried, I could never shake the feeling that there was something off about you. About the way you spoke, the way you acted… there was something about you decades older than your body. I told you this already, but you reminded me of myself. To an unsettling degree. And my biggest question was how, when I made absolutely sure that you and Elena were biological twins, you could be so much older than her.

“So no, I’m not sugarcoating it. You being reincarnated would be an excellent answer to that question. It just… frightens me. The genuine possibility that you know everything about me. It’s extremely intimidating, and now that a witch completely unrelated to you confirmed it, it seems all the more real.”

It all clicked. Why he was still in town when her parents didn’t die the way they were meant to. Why, when she had told him her story, he had been kind instead of cold and suspicious. Why, even under the influence of blood and alcohol, he had slept with her when Elena was in his life. He made her bacon and eggs. The morning after she recovered from her shock, Liz Forbes asked her what her favorite breakfast was. She said it was bacon and eggs. _A man looked oddly familiar. Perhaps she’d seen him in a dream once. He looked sad, too._

“I remember,” she said. “I remember seeing you there. I thought you looked familiar. It’s because you looked like Damon.”

“You knew what Damon looked like?”

“That evening, Elena and I were coming home from the Grill. Damon was there. He tried compelling us to forget we ever met him, but it didn’t work. We were on vervain. I can’t believe I remember you.”

“Damon was there the day your parents were killed? Do you think—”

“That he did it? I don’t doubt the possibility.”

“If he did…”

“If he did, I’ll tear him apart. Promise you won’t get in my way.”

“I promise.”

She smiled small. “Thank you. And thank you for telling me all that. It answered a lot of questions I had.”

“I was going to wait longer, but I felt I owed it to you after yesterday.”

“Never feel like you owe me anything. Friends help friends, free of charge.”

“We’re friends?”

“Oh, sorry, are we moving too fast?”

He chuckled. “I’ve been watching you since May and you probably know which side of the bed I sleep on. I don’t think ‘too fast’ is possible anymore.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh my God… Are we stalkers?”

“Hm… I probably count as a stalker. You can’t be blamed if I was only part of a story for you.”

“Well, yeah, but you had a really good reason to be stalking us. If it wasn’t for the whole Katherine thing, I’d find you a lot creepier, trust me.”

“Implying that you already find me creepy?”

“Oh, definitely. You willingly hid in the woods for three days straight. That’s super creepy.”

“You’re one to talk. You’re still super spooky.”

“That’s right! I’m spooky, you’re creepy, and both of us are stalkers. We make quite the scary pair, don’t you think?”

“ _Terrifying_. The tale of Spooky and Creepy will live on in legend for eons to come.”

She bit her lip to stifle a giggle. “Mm, and here I thought Creepy was supposed to be ‘extremely intimidated’ of Spooky.”

“Huh… I thought so too. You’re worryingly easy to talk to.”

“You know, that might just be the best compliment I’ve ever received.”

“Want another one?”

“Ooh,” she leaned forward, “yes, please.”

He mirrored her posture, and, try as she might, she couldn’t help but take note of how close they were. “When you told me that you admired my strength, I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why. Because the things you said about me I could just as easily say about you. You keep going, you keep being kind, despite everything you’ve been through. The death of your parents broke you, and still you persevere. You’ve been forced to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, and still you persevere. Still you act as a rock for the people around you.” He shook his head. “The way I see it, if anybody’s strength should be admired, it’s yours.”

For a moment, she didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know if anyone had ever told her something like that. “Okay. _That’s_ the best compliment I’ve ever received.”

His smile tied her stomach in knots. “Good. So, uh,” he nodded towards the piece of paper in her hand, “what’s that?”

She leaned back. They were too close. “Well, I _was_ going to practice a monologue for the theater auditions after school, but now I don’t know how much time I have left.”

“Can I see it?”

“Um, yeah,” she handed it to him, “here.”

“Shakespeare, huh?”

“What’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

He shook his head. “I just didn’t know you liked him.”

“I like many things.”

“I look forward to learning what they are.” His eyes, kind and green as spring, looked back up at her. “Want me to help you with this?”

She smiled, and some deep, dark part of her hoped it tied his stomach in knots too. “Absolutely.”

.

She crinkled the edge of the paper as she stared at the wall.

_What fire is in mine ears? Can this be true?_

It was a plain white color, though the students that paced back and forth provided plenty of stimuli.

_Stand I condemn’d for pride and scorn so much?_

Their chattering had become meaningless background noise long ago, when she stopped saying the lines out loud.

_Contempt, farewell! and maiden pride, adieu!_

She carefully smoothed the paper out.

_No glory lives behind the back of such._

She crinkled it again.

_And, Benedick, love on; I will requite thee,_

She carefully smoothed it out.

_Taming my wild heart to thy loving hand:_

And crinkled it.

_If thou dost love, my kindness shall incite thee_

And smoothed it out.

_To bind our loves up in a holy band;_

Crinkle.

_For others say thou dost deserve, and I_

Smooth.

_Believe it better than reportingly._

The brown, metal door swung open to reveal Mr. Roberts’ protégée holding a clipboard. Viola, her name was, and she was one of the few students outside of Angela’s family she genuinely liked.

“Angela Gilbert!”

She stuffed her lines back into her bag and stood. When she was inside the auditorium and the sound of students practicing their lines faded into a whisper, she knew that the door had shut. She saw the back of Mr. Roberts’ bald head sitting in one of the black seats, though he didn’t bother to look at her until she had walked up the stage and stood on the big, white _X_.

“Ah! Angela. It’s nice to see you again.”

“Likewise.”

“How are you? I imagine you had quite the rough summer.”

 _“Oh no,”_ she wanted to say. _“It was just dandy.”_ She smiled her kind, practiced smile. “As well as can be expected. Well enough to be here.”

“I can see that.” He wrote something down on his big, yellow notepad. “Whenever you’re ready.”

She nodded and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she was no longer Angela. When she opened them, there _was_ no Angela. There was no Damon; no Katherine; no Klaus. There was only Beatrice. And when Beatrice had served her purpose, she allowed them all to exist again.

Mr. Roberts had a smile on his face. “You always were fonder of the classics. That was lovely.”

Relief filled her chest. Stefan had spent the rest of lunchtime with her, helping her memorize and practice the lines, but she hadn’t been sure it was enough. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now, your favorite part. I’m ready to hear you sing.”

She must have heard him wrong. “What?”

“The song you prepared. You did prepare a song, didn’t you?”

The relief turned to ice so cold it froze her body. “I forgot.”

“Oh. Well, taking into account the year you had, how about I let you take the rest of the week to prepare one? You can come back on Friday and perform it. Same place, same time.”

She blinked, and in the darkness, her mother’s dead eyes stared through her. “Do I have to sing?”

He frowned. “You don’t _have_ to, but if you don’t, I can’t give you any roles that involve it until you audition for the big, end-of-the-year play in January. Which might mean no leads.”

She tried to breathe, but there was something holding her throat shut. “Okay. Thank you.”

She barely heard him say, “I’ll be here if you decide to show up,” as her numb legs carried her down the stairs. She breezed past Viola and slammed through the door. A few heads turned to look at her, but she paid them no mind. She had to get out of there.

She didn’t realize she’d been heading to the restroom until she was leaning against the sink and staring at her own reflection. Her eyes were wide. Wide and scared. Wide and scared and dead and empty and staring through her just like her mother. _Stop it._ She looked down. A hand that must have been hers turned on the faucet. The water was cold, but that suited her fine. She was already cold, and felt no different when she splashed it on her face.

 _This was a mistake. I should’ve tried getting Elena to continue cheer a different way._ There was no way she could go back there on Friday. There was no reason for her to. There was no reason for her to go back there, ever. She was busy enough with all the supernatural drama going on. High school theater didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. She had wasted her time, which was fine enough, but the fact that she’d wasted Stefan’s as well finally drove the familiar blade of guilt through her gut.

She grabbed two paper towels. They felt rough against her face. _“I’m sorry, Mr. Roberts,”_ she would say. _“I thought it over, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to attend this year. My brother hasn’t spoken a word since our parents were killed. I want to be there for him whenever I can, and I think that being here will only make me feel bad I’m not. I hope you understand.”_

She heard the door swing open and quickly threw the paper in the garbage, smoothing out any makeup it may or may not have messed up.

“Angela Gilbert?” asked a voice in exaggerated disbelief. “Is that you?”

Anger rolled through her like a tidal wave. She turned around with an icy smile. “Sara. Getting desperate for attention again?”

Sara Thompson was a petite girl with mousy blonde hair that was part of Tiki’s clique. Tiki’s clique and Caroline’s clique, which Angela and the others were part of, always had a bit of a rivalry going on. She personally thought it was petty, but she’d be lying if she said that seeing Sara didn’t make her want to grab her small, breakable-looking body and throw it at a wall. Where Tiki was just kind of a bitch in general, Sara specifically targeted Angela. They were both part of the theater group and always tried for the female lead, which, coupled with Sara’s massive jealousy issues, made for an intensely unpleasant relationship.

Sara’s eyes were devious as they scanned her face, pink from the cold water. “I saw you run out of auditions like a bat out of hell. What happened?”

“I thought of you. Had to get in here before I threw up.”

“Hm, makes sense.” She walked forward and started checking herself out in the mirror. “Realizing you’ll always be worse than me can have that effect.”

Angela rolled her eyes. “Are you done? Because I have better things to do than waste my energy on you.”

“You didn’t sing in there. You squeal like a pig, it’d be impossible not to hear you.”

“The only pig I hear is you. What are you trying to do, demoralize me? You’ll have to try harder than that.”

. “No.” She turned to her, and there was something purely evil about the curl of her lips. “Just wondering if you’re not going mute like your _retard_ brother.”

Her body went numb.

With a strange sort of calm, she wondered what would happen if she simply grabbed Sara’s head and bashed it against the edge of the sink. She thought of that commercial. ‘How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?’ She wondered how many bashes it would take to get to the center of Sara’s brain.

“Apologize.”

. Sara raised an eyebrow. “For what? Calling your brother a retarded mute? Why should I apologize for telling the truth?”

“Apologize.”

“Or what?”

“Walk away and find out.”

“Hm…” She pretended to think it over, head tilted and eyes looking up. She gave her a bright, toothy grin. “Okay! See you, princess. Oh, or not. Since you totally blew it.” She shot her a wink before turning on her heels and striding out of the restroom.

Angela stood there for a moment, silent and still, before angry tears began to blur her vision. She clenched her fist so hard she thought she might draw blood, but she didn’t care. _You’re dead._ It didn’t matter that she was a seventeen-year-old girl. It didn’t matter that she had never physically hurt anybody. She was dead.

But feeding her to Damon would be too simple. It would be much more satisfying to destroy her life. And she would begin with what she knew best: the theater. She looked in the mirror, at her angry eyes, and made up her mind. She would show up on Friday. Yes. She would show up. And she would give the performance of her life.

.

The police station was almost sickeningly beige, and Sheriff Forbes’ private office was no different. She could see from the twin windows behind her desk that the clouds were darker than before, and the wind picking up made her suspect she was witnessing the beginning of a storm. Because of this, there was a definite need for Liz to turn on the black, gooseneck lamp sitting on her desk. The orange light it emanated only served to heighten the room’s bland color.

“Angela,” Liz said, “your motive is admirable. But until she’s stable and awake, I can’t do anything for you.”

“I just want to assess her injuries. See the condition she’s in. Something.”

Liz leaned back in her creaky chair and regarded her with rapidly deteriorating patience. “The hospital staff is more than capable enough to do that without you.”

She sighed and rested her hands against the desk. They’d been going at this for a few minutes now, and she was getting frustrated. “What’s the worst that could come out of me seeing her?”

“What’s the worst that could come out of you seeing the victim of a vampire attack? Gee, I don’t know. For some reason, I’m worried you’ll go into shock for a month.”

She rolled her eyes. “This isn’t the same. She’s still alive. And I don’t even know her.”

“Okay, how about this? As soon as she wakes up and I go down to question her, you can come along. Regardless of her physical condition.”

That wouldn’t do. She had to get to her before any of the founding family members could. Or, rather, the ones above eighteen. She didn’t want them learning anything inconvenient. “I don’t understand why you’re so opposed to this.”

“Because I don’t want this consuming you. I want you to live a normal, teenage life. I showed you your parents’ file because I felt bad, but showing you made me feel worse.”

“So it’s because I’m too young.”

“There’s a reason we tell our kids when they’re adults. You should have a happy, vampire-free life for as long as we’re around to protect you.” _That’s a fat fucking joke, isn’t it?_

“Who was around to protect my parents?”

Liz’s lips thinned into a line. “No one. And for that, I can never apologize enough. I loved them too. Not the way you did, but I loved them. I’m doing everything I can to solve their case, but I’m not a god. I can’t just snap my fingers and catch the killer. But between the two of us, I’m the one with the training to do so. So please, go home. Do your homework or spend some time with your friends. Be happy.”

She pursed her lips. “…Fine. I’ll go home.”

“Thank you.”

She walked to the door, but paused before turning the handle. She looked back at Liz as evenly as she could. “You should give that same speech to your daughter. It might convince her to be happy next time she finds a dying woman on the side of the road.” She exited the office before Liz could respond.

A raindrop hit her as soon as she was outside the station, and she cursed her luck as she rushed to the car. When she was out of the rain, she rested her arms against the steering wheel and started to think. She knew that the hospital wouldn’t let her see the victim unless she had express permission from the police. She tried last night. They’d been given orders, and the woman who manned the front desk had been married for over thirty years. There was no way she would be persuaded by a few flirty smiles and bats of the eyes.

She reached for her phone. This definitely counted as something that would benefit them all, but Anna had been parted from her family long enough. She didn’t want to tear her away from them when there was another option.

 _“Hey,”_ Stefan said. _“What’s up?”_

“How do you feel about meeting me at the hospital? In, say, five minutes or so?”

_“Did you run into trouble?”_

“More like severely underestimated the sheriff’s willpower. I can’t speak to the vic without getting her blessing first.”

_“Ah. You want me to compel the front desk.”_

“You know me so well.”

_“What kind of friend-slash-stalker would I be if I didn’t?”_

She smiled. “I guess it’s only fair, seeing as I know you sleep on the right side of the bed.”

_“How do— You know what? I’m not gonna ask.”_

Her eyes widened in surprise. She hadn’t known, per se. It had only been a calculated guess. That was the side he chose on Thursday. “Good. Now, you coming?”

_“See you there, Spooky.”_

The drive only took two minutes, so she spent the other three in the comfort of her very dry, very warm car, browsing for a song to sing on Friday. She turned off the radio and grabbed the burgundy umbrella she kept in the backseat as soon as he was within sight. Walking in the rain suited him oddly well, she thought, and it more than added to his mysterious side.

She greeted him first. “Lovely day to break the law, don’t you think?”

“Definitely. Had to put my good shoes on for this.”

“Aw, you shouldn’t have.” She started walking towards the entrance, and he fell in step beside her.

“So, uh, do you know which room she’s in?”

“Nope. Outsiders aren’t allowed to know a thing. Founding families are paranoid a vampire will try to talk to her.”

“Is that right? Huh. No idea what kind of vampire would do that.”

Her lips twitched in amusement. “I don’t know. Probably a really dumb, stupid one.”

“Dumb _and_ stupid?” He sucked air in through his teeth. “Hate to be _that_ guy.”

She chuckled and stopped in front of the entrance. “So, I may have neglected to mention something. The victim hasn’t woken up yet, probably because of all the blood she lost, and though I’m sure they already did a transfusion, if we could get her some _vampire_ blood…”

“Then she’ll wake up immediately. And we can question her.”

“Exactly.”

“I can do that.”

She gave him a relieved smile. “Thank you.”

He smiled back and shook his head. “Friends help friends, free of charge.” He opened the door and gestured for her to enter.

Stepping inside, they closed their umbrellas and put them in the rectangular, metal rack to the left. There weren’t many visitors in the immediate vicinity, which meant that they were able to reach the front desk in no time.

“Hi.” Stefan addressed the receptionist. “There was a woman that was brought in yesterday. The police gave you orders not to let anyone see her.”

“Oh. Yes.” Her eyes moved to Angela. “But like I already said, I can’t do anything for you. I do have orders, and if you think bringing a cute boy will help charm your way in—”

“Oh, no,” he said, “I think you’ve misunderstood.” Her eyes moved back to him. “We have the sheriff’s blessing. Tell us where she is and make sure we aren’t disturbed.”

“Room 214. To your right.”

“Thank you.” He turned to Angela with a slightly smug expression on his face. “Shall we?”

“Yes,” she replied, equally as smug. “We shall.” He slapped the top of the desk and pushed himself off while she looked for any signs with numbers. “Room 214… Does that mean it’s on the second floor? Like a hotel?”

Stefan led her to the elevator, which was, true to the woman’s words, to their right. He pointed at the sign next to it. “Yes, it is.” He pressed the button and looked at her curiously. “You’ve been in a hotel more than you’ve been in a hospital?”

“My dad had his own clinic. There was never really a need for me to.”

“Ah.” The doors opened, and they stepped inside. “What was he like? Your dad?” The question caught her off-guard, and he must have seen it on her face, as he hurried to say, “You don’t have to tell me if it’s too soon.”

“N-no. I want to. I have to talk about him eventually, don’t I?” The doors slid shut. “He was good to me. He was good to all of us. He… was the only one in the house that ever really treated me like an adult. Most of the time. Not when it came to vampires. I disagreed with his views on them to an extreme degree, and he didn’t appreciate the times I challenged him, but… he was good to me.”

He looked pensive as he opened his mouth to speak, but the doors parted with a ding and he froze. The whites of his eyes began to darken, and his veins became visible.

“Stefan?”

He turned away from the doors. “Blood. A lot.”

Her heart dropped. Of course there would be blood. This was a hospital. She pushed the button to close the doors, realizing that if someone were to see him like this it would mean trouble. “Hey,” she moved into his line of sight, “look at me.” She pulled a small vial of liquid from her bag. “Do you know what this is?”

His gaze flicked between the vial and her throat. “Vervain.”

“That’s right.” She uncorked it and downed it all in one shot. “Remember what I said. If you drink my blood, all it’ll do is burn you.”

His eyes remained locked on her pulse point before he shut them and said, “There’s no vervain in the blood out there.”

That gave her pause. He had a point. “Do you want to wait outside? Could put some of your blood in this.” She wiggled the empty vial.

“What if she knows something that could put you in danger? You can’t compel her to forget.”

“You’re thinking of _me_ right now? Never mind. How about you wait here and I go see where the blood’s at? If it’s all in one area, we can just try to avoid it, but if not, I think it’d be wiser for you to wait outside.”

At his stiff nod of assent, she pressed the button to open the doors, and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze before exiting the elevator.

There were two hallways in front of her, one to the right and one extending straight ahead. She decided to choose the latter, and she didn’t have to walk far before she saw a room full of people donating their blood. She scanned the hallway for any indication as to where room 214 was, and cursed beneath her breath when she saw a sign saying it was beyond the room.

She went back to Stefan. He was staring at the ground and his breathing was heavy, but his face looked human when it lifted to look at her.

“As far as I can tell,” she said, “it’s all in one room. But in order to get to the victim we’ll need to pass by it.”

“I’ll be fine.”

She wasn’t expecting that. “Are you sure? You don’t have to do this. Maybe there’s a window in her room you can come in through.”

“I’ll be fine,” he repeated firmly, though it did nothing to ease her worry. Still, it was his choice.

“Okay… come on.”

Subtly guiding him to walk closer to the wall than the room, she kept an eye out for anyone passing by. He looked like he was barely keeping it together, eyes slipping back and forth between human and vampire, and she wanted to help but had no idea how. Maybe talking to him would help, the way he said it would.

“What’s your favorite color?”

“What?”

She mentally cursed Damon. “Sorry. Don’t know why that’s the first thing that popped in my head. I’m trying to distract you.”

“Oh. Right. Uh… probably blue.”

“Really? That’s Elena’s favorite color too.” Which was definitely a good thing. “Mine’s probably red.”

“Red’s pretty.”

“Thanks.” They passed the room, though she was sure the blood was still affecting him. She tried to think of something else to say, and blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “What was _your_ dad like?” He paused mid-step, and that time, she mentally cursed herself. “I’m sorry, what a horrible question.”

“N-no, uh…” He continued walking. “He was nothing like yours. Except for the vampire part. He didn’t appreciate the times I challenged his views either. The time. Shouldn’t you know this already?”

“In theory. I’d like to learn about you from you.”

“Okay… well… Giuseppe Salvatore was a terrible father and a terrible husband. He was never as cruel to me as he was to Damon, but I would’ve had to have been blind not to see the kind of person he was. There was always a part of me that hoped he could change. That I could help him become good. It was a childish hope, but… it’s different when it’s your father.”

She thought of Grayson. Of Augustine. “My father was terrible too. Not to his family, but to innocent people. Vampires. He hated them with a passion that scared me. It’s like he was two different people. There was my father, the sweet, intelligent man who never refused his children a hug or a bedtime story, and there was the monster capable of hurting people in ways I never thought possible. I think part of me hoped I could help him too.”

She had swiped his journal one more time, after making him tell her about vampires. It was his private one, she guessed after realizing that the vampires weren’t referred to as numbers, and not the one he kept at the university. She never asked him why, of course, but her personal theory was that he never felt the need to dehumanize them in order to do the things he did. Reading what he did to a vampire he called “C.A” fully convinced her that he viewed them as objects already.

She’d caught a glimpse of their name when she first broke into his desk, along with the fact that their hand had been severed to see if it would regenerate, but the entries before that shed a far more horrific light on the situation. Their hand had been severed for an entire month, during which a myriad of experiments had been conducted on the stump. They started off mild enough, first by simply letting it be to see if the hand would regenerate on its own, but over time they became more and more abhorrent. There was one entry in particular she was likely never to forget, which included a copious amount of salt, a gauze to keep it all in place, and the cold detachment with which her father described the vampire’s screams. She hadn’t been able to think of him the same ever since, and she wished she’d never gone back to read it properly.

“It was a childish hope,” she continued, “but I agree. It’s different when it’s your father.” She stopped in front of room 214 and glanced at his face. His eyes were still dark, but the veins beneath were barely visible. “Look at that. We’re here.” He did nothing but nod, and she quietly opened the door.

The woman was maybe a year or two older than her, but she seemed a child with how the medical equipment towered over her. Her skin looked pale and her hair dead.

“Do you know her?” Stefan asked.

“No. I don’t think so.”

He walked over and lifted his wrist to his mouth, before asking with his eyes if she wanted him to continue. She nodded. A few seconds into feeding the woman his blood, her throat began to work, and she could see some life return to her features. Her green eyes fluttered open, and he pulled away.

“Where am I?” Her voice was scratchy.

“Mystic Falls General Hospital,” he said.

Her eyes went wide. “Oh my God.” A hand flung up to the bandage on her neck.

“It’s okay.” Angela moved closer with an expression she hoped was calming. “You’re safe now.”

“Who are you?” she asked frantically. “You’re not wearing a uniform. If you’re doctors, you should be wearing a uniform.”

“That’s because we’re not doctors,” Stefan said. “But we _are_ here to help. Please trust us.”

Her figure relaxed, and she knew he’d compelled her. “How can you help?”

“Could you tell us what happened yesterday?” Angela asked. “To get you in here.”

“I… was jogging. By Wickery Bridge. There was a man.”

“What did he look like?”

“He was white. I think. Dark hair. I didn’t get a good look at his eyes before they…”

Stefan tilted his head. “Before they…?”

“You’ll think I’m crazy.”

“No,” Angela said, “we won’t.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

She took a shallow breath. “His eyes became red. Like a demon. He attacked me.” A hand played with the bandage. “He bit me. Who bites someone like that?”

“Not who,” Stefan said. “What. He was a vampire.”

She rolled her wet eyes. “Of course he was. You promised you wouldn’t think I’m crazy.”

“We don’t,” Angela said. “And right before we leave, Stefan’s going to make you forget we ever had this conversation. But until then, you deserve some answers.”

“What do you mean he’s going to make me forget?”

Stefan caught the woman’s eye. “Stay calm.” His face changed, a sight she was becoming all too familiar with, but one that the woman was not.

Her jaw dropped. “That’s what he looked like.” She looked at Angela. “Shouldn’t I be freaking out? Why am I not freaking out?”

“Because he compelled you to stay calm. Mind control. Every vampire can do it.”

“He’s a vampire? Wait, so he can make me do anything he wants?”

“Yes.”

“Weird.”

“Very weird.”

“Are you a vampire too?”

“No. I’m an alien with foreknowledge.”

“…That’s weird too.”

“Extremely weird,” Stefan said. “Is there anything else you remember? Did he tell you anything?”

“He told me not to scream. I didn’t, for some reason. Maybe it was mind control.”

“And you remember nothing else about him?”

“Nothing that would help. I could probably point to him in a crowd, but he was pretty normal-looking. Until he attacked me.”

A thought struck her. “Do you think you could help me draw him?”

“What, you mean like a police sketch?”

“Exactly like a police sketch.”

“Maybe. If I do, will you try to catch him?”

“We’ll try to catch him either way. But this could speed up the process.”

She nodded. “Then I’ll do my best.”

Drawing him took about thirty minutes, near the end of which they decided that, with what little the woman saw and Angela’s skill level, it was as good as it was going to get.

Angela put her supplies back into her bag. “Sorry I’m not da Vinci.”

“No. You’re pretty good. Sorry I don’t have a photographic memory.”

She stood with a forgiving smile. “Wow. How rude am I? I never even got your name.”

“It’s Penny. I don’t think I got your name either.”

“Angela.”

“Angela. And…” She pointed at Stefan, who was leaning against the door. “Steven?”

He blinked. “Uh, n—”

“ _Yes_ ,” Angela said happily. “Though he prefers Steve.” She ignored the look he gave her.

“Is he going to make me forget now?”

“It’s better this way.”

“Are you sure?” Penny’s voice wasn’t worried or suspicious in the slightest, but instead like she was asking a close friend which outfit she should wear. It was almost enough to make her feel guilty.

“Positive.”

“Well… okay then.”

“How much should I make her forget?” Stefan asked. “Does the guy seem familiar to you?”

“Maybe a little bit? Not enough to get me into trouble, I don’t think. You?”

“Not from what I can tell.”

“Then just make her forget we were ever here.”

He pushed himself off the door and to the bed, but before he could do anything, Penny said, “Wait. Before you erase my memory. Promise me you’ll catch him. You were too late with me, but… I don’t want anyone else getting hurt.”

“We’ll catch him,” Angela said. “I promise.”

Stefan offered her a gentle smile. “You seem like a kind person. I’m sorry it had to be you. We’ll catch him.”

“Good.” Penny took a deep breath and nodded. “Go ahead.”

He leaned down, looking her straight in the eye. “You’ll fall asleep as soon as I stop talking to you. By the time you wake up, you’ll have forgotten you ever met us. That we ever spoke. You’ll heal from the trauma you suffered, and you’ll do your best to live a long, happy, and fulfilling life. You’ll do your best to be happy.” As soon as he pulled back, Penny peacefully closed her eyes.

Angela waited a moment to make sure she was asleep. “Should we leave through the window? To avoid all the blood.”

“Probably. I don’t know if I’ll be able to control myself again.”

“Yeah, about that… At the risk of sounding extremely patronizing, I’m really proud of you. I have no idea what possessed you to try and power through it, but you did, and I’m honored to have been there for it.”

“Honored? Because you saw me not tear someone apart.”

“Because you made some incredible progress.”

He scoffed quietly. “Right.”

Her eyebrows furrowed. “Do you not see how big a deal this is?”

“It shouldn’t have to be.”

“No, it shouldn’t, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is. We should celebrate progress, not devalue it. Otherwise we’ll never move forward.”

“How can I celebrate not being a monster when it’s the bare minimum?”

“Because not being a monster isn’t a linear process, Stefan. Because everything I told you on Friday is still true. You’re strong, and you’re kind, and you care about people.” She motioned towards Penny. “You were kind to her. You could’ve just made her forget. You didn’t have to say all that about living a good life. But you did, because you care. I only thought of her as a means to an end. As a way to find the vampire that might get other vampires killed. Because for all you told me during lunch, I can’t afford to care about humans. Not if I can help it. Not in a world where they’re so easily disposable. Does that make me a monster?”

“You’ve never taken an innocent life.”

“And? The fact that you have a blood issue doesn’t change everything that’s good about you. Neither does the fact that almost every innocent life you’ve ever taken is because you felt so guilty from taking just one you had to turn your emotions off. I’m not excusing your actions. There _is_ no excusing your actions. But if you think that’s what makes you monstrous, I think you’re wrong. I think that’s what makes you human.”

“You wouldn’t be saying that if I killed your parents. How many parents _have_ I killed? How many sons? How many grieving families have I left behind?” His eyes were empty, and she knew what was happening. She had experienced it herself more times than she could count.

“I don’t know,” she said softly. “A lot. But you can’t let the guilt consume you. Neither of us can. If we do, people might get hurt because we aren’t there to save them. I’ve never taken an innocent life, not directly, but with everything that changes because of me, the chance of something going horribly wrong grows exponentially larger. I haven’t exactly figured out how to make myself stop feeling like a monster either, but… I guess what I’m trying to say is that maybe you aren’t as alone in this as you think.”

“You’re the farthest thing I can think of from a monster.”

“What about a kitten?”

He looked at her incredulously. “You and a kitten.”

She bit her lip in faint amusement and tilted her head. “Do you see my point?”

He sighed. “Not that I think your sins and mine are within the same universe, but… I can see the point you’re trying to make.”

“Good.” Penny’s breathing grew heavy, and it reminded her where they were. She gave him a gentle smile. “So… how about that window?”

“I still can’t decide whether you’re completely insane or incredibly wise.”

“Does it really matter in the end?”

“That question doesn’t help your case.”

She laughed quietly. “No, I guess it doesn’t.” She walked to the window and looked down. _Way_ down. Her heart stuttered in her chest. “I don’t know if I can make that.” She saw him join her out the corner of her eye.

“Good thing you have a vampire dumb and stupid enough to carry you.”

“What about our umbrellas? They’re still downstairs.”

“We’ll come in through the front and get them.”

She swallowed dryly. “Are you _sure_ it’s safe?” She could tell he was looking at her. And at how hesitant she was.

“Are you afraid of heights?”

She tried to mask how she felt by saying, “Well I can’t be _totally_ perfect, can I?”

“Angie.” She tore her eyes away from the outside. “I’m sure it’s safe.”

She scrutinized his face. He seemed sincere, but then again, he always seemed sincere. “You won’t drop me.”

“I won’t drop you.” He brought a hand up and wiggled his pinky. “Pinky promise.” Her gaze couldn’t help but soften at how ridiculous the gesture was. Ridiculous and sweet. It made her happy to know he was feeling better. She must have stayed silent for too long, however, because he brought it back down and said, “Close your eyes.”

“Why?”

“I’m sure you can guess.” Of course she could, which was exactly why she didn’t want to do it. His gaze softened as well. “After all we’ve been through these past few days, after all we’ve talked about, is it so much to ask that you trust me a little?”

No, it wasn’t. Not that she wanted to admit that. But the battle was over as soon as it began. _Damn your puppy dog eyes._ “Fine. Fine, just… stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?”

She shut her eyes, choosing not to answer. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Though she could no longer see, she could hear the window open, and the sound of rain intensifying made her tense in anticipation. She heard him walk closer, felt the cool breeze push some hair behind her shoulders, but no matter how hard her heart was pounding she kept her eyes shut.

She was expecting the world to shift, but she wasn’t expecting him to pick her up bridal style. She let out a gasp and instinctively grabbed onto his leather jacket, but dared not open her eyes. If she did, she knew she would be lost. Either from the fear or from something else she didn’t want to entertain. There was the feeling of falling, the lightheadedness it caused and the way her heart leapt to her throat, but as soon as it started, it stopped. She felt ground beneath her feet, though she didn’t stop clutching his jacket. She felt like she would faint if she did.

“You can look now.” He sounded amused.

She slowly blinked her eyes open to find that they were beneath an awning. And that, yes indeed, he was amused. She let go of him and smacked his chest. “Stop laughing at me.”

His didn’t even attempt to look serious. “Me? I don’t see me laughing. Do you see me laughing?”

She rolled her eyes. “Just fly up there and shut the window before she catches a cold, Creepy Steve.”

“…Okay. You’re never calling me that again.”

“Calling you what? Creepy Steve?”

“Stop it.”

The fear dissipated fully when she laughed. “Oh, and, uh,” she patted his shoulder condescendingly, “get our umbrellas while you’re at it, won’t you?”

He gave her a look that would have been dangerous if not for the way he was visibly struggling not to grin. “Just… stay here.”

As he disappeared before her eyes, she became aware of two things. That she had bared more of her soul to this one man within half a week than she had to anyone else within seventeen years, and that, though it should have terrified her, all it did was make her feel free.


	10. I Did It for Jeremy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas! Or whichever holiday you celebrate. And if you don’t celebrate any holiday, I hope you at least got time off of work/school. I, on the other hand, have four essays to write and kinda want to die. Wish me patience lol.

**CHAPTER 9**

**_I DID IT FOR JEREMY_ **

Her brother was taking the whole 'doctor' thing very seriously, and she wasn’t sure what to make of it.

Of course, she was glad that he found something productive to pour his energy into, but with how fervent he’d become in achieving his goal, she was beginning to suspect he was using it as an unhealthy coping mechanism. More and more frequently, whenever she woke up and went to check on him, he would be sleeping at his desk with a textbook for a pillow and his bed still made from the night before.

Were he a naturally studious kid, she wouldn’t find his behavior too odd, but this was the same kid that so often came to her and Elena, freaking out and begging for their help in doing his homework the night before it was due. The same kid that faked illness for an entire week so he could stay home and play _Super Mario Galaxy_. That ‘accidentally’ broke his messy, half-finished science project. Jeremy was smart, but he wasn’t the type of smart that enjoyed studying.

So when she went to wake him after cooking breakfast and found him sound asleep at his desk, she couldn’t help but worry.

“Hey.” She rubbed his shoulder. “Jeremy.” He let out a whine, but didn’t move an inch. “Wake up, buddy. You need to get ready for school.” A different whine, but a whine nonetheless. “Breakfast is ready.” He simply buried his head further into his arms, and she knew that she was right to worry. A glance at the textbook beneath his arms—the familiar-looking textbook—told her he was studying anatomy. “Did you steal that from me?”

He sluggishly lifted his head and rubbed his eyes. “Sorry.”

“Hey, it’s not like I’m using it.” His bed was still made. “What time did you fall asleep?”

“Four.”

She had to mentally replay what he said in order to understand it. “ _What_?”

“I meant ten.”

“Jeremy! Have you been falling asleep that late every night?” All he did was look away. That was answer enough. “You and I are having a serious talk after school.”

His face crumpled. “Do we have to?”

She opened her mouth to say, “Yes,” but hesitated. Unhealthy coping mechanism or no, he arguably had it worse than any of them, and here she was, yelling at him for how he dealt with it. She shut her mouth. What would her mother do? She always knew what to say. How to fix things. Would she let him off the hook or be stern? She had no idea. Maybe something in the middle would be preferable.

“Yes,” she said, in a tone much kinder than before. “We have to.” She ran her fingers through his hair. “I’m worried about you.” When she went to pull her hand back, he held it in place.

“I’m worried about you too. You’re always gone. All we do is study sign language.” His hand movements were slow and clunky, but she felt proud of him for saying all that.

“Yeah… you’re right. I miss you. We’ll find something fun to do, okay?” He nodded. “Okay. Now, seriously.” She pushed his head away. “Go get dressed. I made blueberry pancakes.” He shot out of his chair, and she couldn’t help but smile. In a world so uncertain, it was good to know that some things never changed. Her smile dropped, however, when she remembered what Sara Thompson said the other day. She hadn’t been able to get it out of her head, the word she used to describe her brother, and it filled her with a rage that made her want to destroy the girl. She’d thought of many ways to do so, but crossed out the more extreme options. She wanted to torture her into repentance, not death.

The plan she came up with consisted of two parts. One handled by her, and the other handled by Caroline. But for her to complete her part of the plan, first she had to sing. She left Jeremy’s room and headed to the backyard. Anna had already fed her her blood and left, so she didn’t have to worry about embarrassing herself too much.

She learned at a very young age what her mother’s favorite song was. _Ain’t No Sunshine_ by Bill Withers. She would sing it often, either to get her to sleep or when she was in a particularly good mood, and Angela figured that in order to sing again she should start with something familiar.

There was a lump in her throat, but some breathing exercises should drive it away. That’s what they did when her mother was still alive. She opened her mouth to sing, and cringed when her voice came out a croak. _Come on. You can do this._ But her next try was equally as unsuccessful, and the lump was still there.

She squeezed her eyes shut to make herself focus, but all it did was make her see her mother. How could she defend Jeremy when she failed so miserably at defending her? Her and her father, who was good to them despite being half a monster.

“Angie?” She turned around to find Jenna poking her head out the back door. “Aren’t you going to eat?”

“Oh… yeah. I’ll be right there.”

Maybe Caroline could help, she thought as she went back inside. They sang together often, before the murder. The familiarity of the situation might just be enough for her to do it again.

.

“You want to sing?” Caroline looked completely befuddled as they walked to their lockers.

“Why not?”

“Um… I don’t know. Maybe because last time I asked, you broke down.”

She rolled her eyes. “I did not ‘break down.’ I just… cried a little.”

Caroline shot her a look. “A little.”

It would be a waste of time to argue semantics. “That was in the past. This is in the present, and present me is asking you to sing with her. What do you say?”

They reached their lockers, and Caroline turned to scrutinize her. She was clearly hesitant to say yes, but did so anyway. “Fine. Let’s go to the music room. But if you tell me it’s useless, I’m flicking your forehead.”

“I won’t.” She smiled. “Promise.”

.

“This is useless.”

Caroline rolled her eyes and reached over to flick her forehead. “No, it’s not. You’re just letting your mind get the best of you.”

She dropped into a blue, plastic chair with a sigh. “You’re right, I’m sorry. Let me get over my mom’s murder real quick.”

“Hey, I’m trying to help here.”

“I know.” She offered a smile despite her frustration. “I know, and thank you. I just don’t know if I can do this. Not yet. But I have to.”

“Why? Why is this such a big deal all of a sudden?”

That word came back to her, and made her grip the edge of her seat. “Sara Thompson said something the other day. Made me want to destroy her. Musical theater’s the thing she cares about most, so if I want to hit her hard, that’s where I need to aim. But in order to do that, I need to sing.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in vengeance.”

“I do when it comes to family.”

Caroline raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “What did she say exactly?”

A glance at the window in the door failed to show anyone that might overhear. “She called Jeremy—” Something she never wanted to hear again. Not even from herself. But Caroline would be able to help if she knew, so she pushed herself off the chair and whispered it in her ear.

When she pulled back, she saw that her mouth had dropped open. “ _What_?”

“You heard me.”

Her face contorted in fury. “Oh, she is _so_ dead.”

 _Was hoping you’d say that._ She knew her smile was wicked. “Anything you can do without making it an all-out war?”

“What, between our group and hers? Do you honestly think Tiki would want to be friends with her if she heard what she said? She’s a bitch, not heartless.”

“Hm… could make that the final blow. Losing her friend group.”

“Please.” Caroline scoffed. “We can do worse than that, can’t we?”

Of course they could. “Public humiliation and expulsion. If I get her to say it again while secretly recording her, I can show it to the entire school, but I’m worried that’ll make her do something drastic. I want to torture her into a genuine apology, not… _you know_.”

Not that she hadn’t wanted to torture her into _you know_ at first, but it was as she always told Tyler. So long as you can help it, never make a decision when you’re angry. You’ll regret it afterwards. ‘Do as I say, not as I do’ can only be uttered so many times before people label you a hypocrite.

Caroline let out a moan of displeasure. “Fine… So, what sounds better? Cheater with STDs or money-stealing junkie?”

“Definitely cheater.” It paid to be sisters with the queen bee.

.

She approached Bonnie after school one day before she could leave the grounds to ask if she wanted to join her in a visit to the hospital. She touched her uncovered shoulder and was just about to say hi when Bonnie startled with a gasp and turned around.

“U-uh,” Angela stammered, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare—”

“Do that again.”

“What?”

“That.” Bonnie’s eyes were wide as they looked at the hand that touched her. “Do it again.”

Maybe it was the fact that the request was so unordinary or that ever since Anna’s advice she’d felt herself becoming more and more paranoid, but she felt the need to look around in case someone was watching. “Okay…” She raised her hand and rested it on Bonnie’s shoulder.

Something in her hazel eyes changed, and she drew a shaky breath. “Oh my God… I can see you.”

A chill ran down her spine. “Because that’s not unsettling or anything.”

She ignored her. “Grams always said she could see your soul, but I never thought it’d look like this. I never thought it’d look like a woman.”

“Wait. You mean you can finally sense what I am?”

“Yeah. I can. I have no idea how, but I can.” Angela felt her begin to tremble beneath her palm, though she didn’t know if it was from fear or excitement. “This is insane,” she whispered. “Oh my God, this is insane.”

“Bonnie! It’s amazing is what it is. You’ll be lighting candles and helping your grams in no time.”

It clicked for Bonnie as well, and she gave an astonished grin. “Oh my God! Thank you! Thank you for touching me out of nowhere! Uh, maybe don’t take that out of context.”

She couldn’t help but smile. “I won’t.”

“Why _did_ you touch me anyway?”

“I was going to visit Ms. Sheila. Thought maybe you’d want to tag along.”

Bonnie didn’t seem to be expecting that, but her smile didn’t dim at all. “Oh, yeah, sure. I wasn’t planning on visiting her until later, but it’d be nice to have some company.”

“Your car? Lena can drive herself home.”

“Perfect.”

Bonnie was still beaming when they got to the hospital, and talking the way she did when she was excited. Constantly, and with her hands. Word vomit, Caroline called it, but Angela called it happiness. And because Bonnie was one of the people she loved the most, it only made sense that she loved her happiness too.

The sight of Sheila Bennett in a hospital bed, unmoving and unable to do anything, was still utterly bizarre, though she had visited her quite a few times by now. This time was different though, because this time she’d come on a mission.

Bonnie must have been on a mission too, since she was fluttering around the room in search for something. “They don’t have any candles here, do they?”

“Doubt it.” She moved to Sheila’s side. “Wouldn’t risk setting fire to the patients.”

There was a snort. “Thanks for _that_ mental image.”

“You’re welcome,” she said absently, and slipped her hand beneath Sheila’s. Her mother was gone. Her real mother, the one that raised her and loved her and called her her little angel, but the mother figure in front of her was still alive.

Sheila had been suspicious of her in the beginning, when she was still a toddler. She could tell. Her gaze would linger, even more so when she was spending time with Bonnie. Her eyes, so much like a hawk’s, would scarcely leave her for fear of missing something. For fear of letting her hurt someone.

It was only when Angela saved a five-year-old Bonnie from falling down a tree and breaking her neck that her attitude began to shift, slowly realizing that all she truly wanted was to keep the children safe. They had been much alike in that aspect, and because of it forged an alliance. An alliance that over the years became true friendship, even if Sheila still found fun in treating her like a child.

Her presence was familiar. Comforting. Mother-like, even if she wasn’t her real mother. She hoped it would be enough to break through the barrier that prevented her singing.

Bonnie sighed from across the room. “I’m going to go see if they have any candles. Think I’ll burst into flames myself if I don’t.”

“Alright. I’ll be here.”

The door opened and closed. She looked back. Bonnie was gone. Now was the perfect time. She shut her eyes and recited the lyrics in her mind. Heard the instruments beneath her and her mother’s voices. Faint, but there.

She tried humming it this time, figuring it would be easier than singing. It got her halfway through the first verse before her voice gave out and her chest felt too tight to continue. _You can do this. I know you can do this. For Jeremy._ That thought got her through the rest of the verse, but her throat closed up again and she felt frustrated tears prick at the edge of her eyes.

The door opened. She let go of Sheila.

“Bad news,” Bonnie said. “Turns out hospitals in the twenty-first century don’t have candles. There’s a backup generator in case the power goes out. Go figure.”

“Really?” She cleared her throat and turned with as kind an expression as she could muster. “That’s a shame.”

“Eh, it’s fine. Got plenty at home anyway.” Her eyes flicked to Sheila and her face dropped. She stepped closer, taking a deep breath and trying to smile. “Hey, Grams! Uh… something crazy happened today. I finally sensed what Angie is. Had to touch her first, but,” she glanced at her, “now I only have to look. I’ll be helping you in no time, so hang in there, okay? I can’t lose you. You’re… you’re pretty much my best friend. No offence, Ann.”

“None taken.” It would be silly to. Sheila raised Bonnie, mentored her in witchcraft, and became her closest confidant because of it. She was everything.

“What else? Let’s see, I already told you about the dinner party we’ll be attending… oh! The Founder’s party is next week. Me and the girls are going dress shopping on Friday, so that’ll be fun. Um… that rogue vampire still hasn’t been caught, even though Angie drew a police sketch and everything. He does look kind of familiar, but… I just can’t put my finger on who he is.”

Angela had shown it to Pearl and her people as well, though only Anna thought he looked familiar. That hardly narrowed down the list of suspects, since of the three of them, Anna would have seen the most of Mystic Falls’ residents.

“I’m… pretty sure that’s it. Think I’m going to head home and try to light a candle. Let’s hope it works. I want to wake you up as soon as I can. Never thought I’d miss your lectures, but,” she chuckled softly, “I do. Oh, uh, when you do wake up though, maybe lecture Angie first. She’s the one that drank all your bourbon.”

“Bonnie!”

She walked to the door with a grin. “You know you can’t hide a thing from her.”

The skin below her collar bones had gone warm from a memory only she was privy to, and she tried to deflect. “What were you doing raiding her liquor cabinet, young lady?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Angela narrowed her eyes. Bonnie’s laughter was loud when she was shoved out of the room, and though she tried to remain stern, she couldn’t. Her laughter was loud too.

Bonnie was kind enough to drive past her house in order to drop her off at home, and Angela said to keep her posted on whether or not she was able to light that candle. As soon as she stepped inside, she was greeted by the sight of her sister sitting on the couch and reading from an old-looking leather journal. She left her purse by the door and went behind her, skimming the text out of curiosity.

“Is that one of Johnathan Gilbert’s?”

Elena didn’t look up, choosing instead to turn the page. “Mhm. Guy really hated vampires.”

She snorted. That was an understatement. “You get to the Pearl part yet?”

“No. Why? What does it say?”

She reached over Elena’s shoulder and gently pried the journal out of her hands. The part was roughly two-thirds in, so that’s where she went. “Here we go.” She handed it back. “Have fun.”

It would take a minute for her to finish reading the whole thing, so she went into the kitchen for a glass of water. “Are you hungry?” After receiving a distant, “Sure,” she decided they would order from the Grill today. She was feeling too lazy to cook.

When she finished drinking her water and placing their order—the usual, the place knew it by heart—she returned to Elena. She seemed perturbed, and set the journal down with a grimace.

“Do you think she holds a grudge?”

Angela looked at her as if to say the answer was obvious. “Wouldn’t you? But, good news, I’m pretty sure it’s only against the men of the family. Didn’t get the impression she hated me.”

“Still… can’t say I’m too happy about being surrounded by three vampires that could kill me.”

It would be rude to laugh, so she didn’t. “Whatever happened to Elena the Vampire Slayer?”

“Pretty sure I have to actually slay a vampire to get that title. And she’s still there, she’s just… scared. Right now.”

“Yeah… The world is pretty scary.”

“Can I ask you something?” Angela hummed affirmatively. “How do you do it? How do you just go out there and do crazy supernatural stuff like it’s nothing? A dead witch threw you against a tree, Damon almost choked you to death, and you seem insanely comfortable around Stefan and Anna, when ever since the Tanner incident I’ve been trying to avoid them all like the plague. How are you still okay?”

 _That’s my secret,_ she thought, and smiled despite herself. _I’m never okay._ “Death changes you. Makes you see things differently. It’s probably silly, but I feel a bigger rift between me and humans than I do me and vampires. Now, the dead witches I could do without.”

“You feel a rift between us?”

“Is that what I said?”

“Well, not in those words, but—”

“Not in any words. You’re family, Lena. Species doesn’t matter when you’re family.”

“It does when you’ve gone through something major I can’t even begin to understand. I want you to be able to tell me everything.”

“But I can’t tell you everything, can I? I can’t tell anyone. I know too much. I have to carry that burden alone. It’d be too dangerous not to.”

Her expression became one of concern. “And you’re okay with that?”

“No, of course I’m not okay with it. It’s the loneliest feeling in the world. But what am I supposed to do? I’m not dumb enough to tell you everything, because even though I love you and I trust you, the more people that know, the higher the odds of something terrible happening. Something I can’t fix.” Not that she had been able to fix much anyway. “Can you promise me something?” When Sheila slipped into her coma, she drafted an e-mail that would send within a month unless she actively postponed it. Were she to die, it would put Elena on the trail to finding the bottle. “If I ever go missing for a month, check your e-mail.”

Elena straightened up. “What do you mean if you go missing?”

“It’s just in case. I probably won’t.”

“Are you sure?”

No. Of course she wasn’t sure. “I’m sure.”

She seemed hesitant, like she wanted to ask more but was afraid to. “I promise.”

“Thank you.” She lovingly ran her fingers through her hair. “I love you, you know. Even if you are a lowly human.”

Her sister chuckled. “I love you too.” She leaned further into her hand. “Even if I’ll never understand you.” Angela knew that it was the truth, but for some reason, hearing it come out of Elena’s mouth drove a dagger through her heart.

It was impossible to sleep that night. Most nights, though she didn’t get much sleep anyway, the few hours she did get were all too welcome. The nightmares were welcome. It was a bad thing, but it was a thing she couldn’t help. The nightmares were familiar. Constant. Certain in a world where almost nothing was. They were a break from that part of her mind that thought too much and felt too little. The part of her mind that was currently in control, and which steered her in the direction of Klaus.

There were many people in this world that terrified her, but most of them were avoidable. Esther? Don’t open her coffin. Silas and Qetsiyah? Cure’s a no go. Markos and Kai? No Silas meant no travelers, which meant no Markos or collapse of the Other Side. Mikael? Well… Mikael she had special plans for. But Klaus was unavoidable. Because Katherine was unavoidable. And she didn’t want to kill him, because killing him meant killing every vampire that currently resided in Mystic Falls. Enzo and Lexi too, maybe. She couldn’t remember.

Though she’d thought of how to handle him a decade ago, if he found them before Elijah did, they may very well die before she could. If she never existed, Elijah would have found Elena through Rose and Trevor. How did Rose and Trevor find out about Elena? She couldn’t remember. If she never got into contact with Rose and Trevor, how would she get into contact with Elijah without alerting Klaus? She hated nights like these.

Not for the first time, she wondered if things would be easier had she been reborn as Elena. If she wouldn’t have to worry so much since she could simply kill herself and be done with it. Or maybe things would be ten times harder, since she would be doing exactly what she was doing now. So Jeremy wouldn’t have to be alone in the world. It was useless to contemplate, she supposed, because she hadn’t been reborn as Elena. She had been reborn as Angela, and though it might have been just as useless, she wondered if she would ever know why.

Her sister was still asleep when she snuck out of the room, thankfully, so she didn’t have to feel bad about waking her. She needed air. She grabbed the throw blanket from the couch before heading outside. The porch swing creaked when she sat down.

It was nights like this she missed her mother more than ever. She could never tell her about Klaus or Elijah or any of the others, but somehow, Miranda Sommers-Gilbert always knew what to say to make her feel better. And when she said nothing, her warm hugs were more than enough. Elena inherited that gift from her, but it never seemed to work properly. Not on Angela. How could it, when she saw her as a kid she needed to protect? Maybe she was ageist.

Her mother couldn’t say anything anymore, nor could she give any more hugs, so she wrapped the blanket around herself instead. It wasn’t as warm as her mother, but it would have to do. Her eyes stung.

If she was going to stay up, she might as well be productive. Maybe she would try to sing again, since she’d been thinking of her mother. _Ain’t No Sunshine_? No. It was a simple enough song with a simple enough melody, but maybe it would help if she tried something simpler.

On June 21st, 1993, Grayson bought a camera. A friend of his had given him the idea, he said, to film the family’s more important moments, and he started with her and Elena’s first birthday. They converted them all to DVDs a while back, and tonight she found them in the attic, as she knew she would. She grabbed the one she wanted—the one labeled BDAYS 1993-5—and went back down to the living room.

She popped it in the DVD player and sat on the couch, wrapping the soft blanket around herself. This was likely one of her dumber ideas, but at least it wasn’t one that put her life in danger. With a deep, shaky sigh, she braced herself and pressed play.

The picture was focused on the cream-and-pink happy birthday banner above the sliding doors that separated the living room from the kitchen and dining area. It was on the side of the living room, just a few feet away from where she was now, and she wondered if she remembered that day.

The camera turned to reveal a baby in a young girl’s arms. No. Not just a girl. Jenna. A twelve-year-old Jenna. “Hi,” she said in an overly squeaky voice. “My name’s Elena. I cry over nothing and smell like poop.” The declaration was so unexpected it almost made her laugh.

There was a chuckle from behind the camera. A familiar chuckle, and one that knocked the wind out of her. “Hey, now,” her father said. “Don’t let Mom hear that. I just changed you.”

“Maybe,” her voice was still high and squeaky, “it’ll make her regret putting me in this frilly monstrosity.”

“Oh yeah? How do you think I felt being forced into a blue wedding suit?”

She finally broke character, and scrunched her nose in disgust. “I almost forgot. You looked like she was holding you hostage.”

He snickered. “No, Grayson. You can’t wear black and white. You’ll look like a penguin.” His voice was firm and flat, an impeccable impersonation of Miranda when she was annoyed. “The theme is _pastel. Pastel,_ Grayson. How many times do I have to tell you?”

“At least it wasn’t neon.”

Her heart stopped. The camera turned to find her mother descending the stairs with another baby in her arms. She was beautiful, in a boat neck dress that was a lovely shade of cream, a pair of pearl earrings, and her hair side-swept and curled.

There was a beat of silence before Jenna giggled. “Ooh, someone’s blushing! Say something smooth, Gray, I believe in you.”

“Uh, yeah.” He cleared his throat. “You look stunning, Miranda.”

Her mother approached with a smile—God, she looked young—and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.” The baby—rather, _she_ —had been staring at the camera the entire time, and she finally took notice. “Do you know what that is, Angela?” Her voice was so warm and real that, for a moment, she fooled herself into thinking she was still alive. “That’s a camera. It means that when you grow up, you’ll be able to watch this back.”

“Yeah, Jen,” Grayson said. “Shouldn’t have said that poop thing. Elena will be mortified.”

She snorted. “As if. She’ll just know I’m the coolest aunt ever.”

The doorbell rang. Her mother shot them a bright smile. “Wonder who that could be.” The camera followed close behind as she opened the front door to find Abigail Bennett-Wilson standing next to her then-husband, Rudy Hopkins. Miranda pulled her into a tight, one-armed hug.

Abigail pulled back with a gasp, gaze set on her young self. “Oh my God! She’s adorable, Rudy, look at that dress.”

“Isn’t she?” Her mother asked gleefully.

“Wow,” Rudy said with clearly faked enthusiasm, “look at that dress.” He shot her father an amused look before finding the camera. “Don got you to buy that thing after all?”

As her mother ushered Abigail over to Elena, the camera stayed with the men. “Figured memories are too important. Where’s your little girl?”

“With Sheila. Finally got her to sleep. Didn’t want to ruin the peace.”

He clicked his tongue. “Yeah, first year’s rough. Liz won’t be bringing her daughter for the same reason.”

Rudy hummed. “Wouldn’t go back for the world though.”

When they got to the living room, she saw that Abigail was playing with Elena, gently waving her fingers in front of her face and trying to get her to catch them. Her father sighed, the sound light and full of love. “Neither would I.”

Unconsciously, she wiped a tear away from her cheek. _I would. In a heartbeat, I would._ But she couldn’t, so she fast-forwarded instead. As soon as she saw the birthday cake, she pressed play.

It was in her mother’s hands, cream-and-pink to match the décor. The camera turned to show that after the Bennetts, not only had Liz Forbes arrived, but a young Kelly, Vicki, and Matt Donovan had as well. She faintly found that curious, since she didn’t remember meeting a single Donovan before middle school.

The cake was set down on the dinner table, and her father held the camera out to Rudy. “Here you go.” The picture shook when Rudy took it.

Her mother retrieved Elena from Abigail’s arms, and her father retrieved her from Jenna’s. Then it started. The thing she decided to watch this for in the first place. Her mother started them off, but the rest quickly joined in. Still, her voice was the clearest, as it always was.

_Happy birthday to you_

_Happy birthday to you_

_Happy birthday, Elena and Angela_

_Happy birthday to you_

Her parents blew out the candles. The guests cheered. She paused the video. She had to. It was impossible to see.

Angela had never been a loud crier. Something that rang all the more true when the rest of the house was asleep. The sobs that racked her spine, however, would surely be visible if anyone were to come downstairs, so she tried to keep them at a minimum. She didn’t want people to worry about her. Why should they, when she made two of the most important people in her life die the way they did? When she made a girl—a young, innocent girl—lose her father to a vampire attack? When she wasn’t even meant to exist to begin with?

 _Because of Jeremy,_ her mind whispered. _Because of Jeremy._ _He’s the reason you’re doing this. The reason you’re alive. If he matters, you matter too._

She came to that realization the night he was brought home from the clinic. The night she realized the full extent to which she had changed things, without even trying to. The night she wondered how much more she would change things, and how much worse they would become.

The knife had been easy to get, but climbing in the bathtub had been difficult. Four-year-olds had short legs after all, but she managed with the help of a plastic stool. It would destroy her parents, she’d known, but they weren’t the only people in the world that mattered. Her sister ended up happy before, when Angela Gilbert never existed. How selfish would she be to risk ruining her life when she could so easily remove herself from the equation?

Her hand had been shaking. Though her mind thought it was the best option, her heart had been pumping with a force that rippled through her entire body. Perhaps it had been a last-ditch effort by her brain to make her stop, because at the end of the day it still belonged to an animal. And animals wanted to live. The kiss of steel had been cold against her skin. She’d drawn blood, screwed her eyes shut to block out the pain, and—

A wail. High-pitched. Piercing. Her brother.

The brother who was meant to be two years younger than her. Not four. The brother whose life she had completely altered. The brother whose personality she had completely altered, and therefore would change things in her stead. The brother who, at that moment, made her realize that even if she were to dig the knife deep and drag, it wouldn’t do a single thing.

It filled her with an odd sense of peace, the knowledge that she was trapped. That no matter what she did, things would change, because things had already changed. It was then that she forged her purpose in life. Then that she became Angela Gilbert. If things were going to change, the least she could do was fight to change them for the better. But to fight, first she had to live.

She would calm down, she decided. She would calm down and rewind and sing with her mother, the way she did when she was still alive. For Jeremy. Her tears provided some challenge to drawing deep breaths, but she did it anyway. Once, then twice, then thrice, until the tears stopped flowing and her eyes were clear again. She reached for the remote.

_Happy birthday to you_

She paused and squeezed her eyes shut. _You can do this. For Jeremy._ “Hap— hap-py b-birthday to you.” Her voice shook and stuttered, but the melody was there.

_Happy birthday to you_

“Hap— hap-py birthday to you.” _Again. For Jeremy._

_Happy birthday—_

“—Elena an-and Angela.” _Again. For Jeremy._

_Happy—_

_For Jeremy._

“—Birthday—”

_For Jeremy._

_—To—_

_For Jeremy._

“You.”

Her parents blew out the candles. The guests cheered. She paused the video. A disbelieving breath escaped her. _I did it. I finally did it._ A fire filled her veins. A fire she never felt before, but one she immediately knew the name of. Her lips stretched into a smile. She reached for the remote. For Jeremy.

The first thing she did next morning was sing to her sister. _Ain’t No Sunshine_ by Bill Withers, since it was the song she was going to perform at her audition. The light in Elena’s eyes and the hug she gave her afterwards reaffirmed the fact that, in a world as uncertain as this, knowing that she finally managed to fix something was incredible.

Next was Jeremy. Sweet, smart Jeremy for whom she was doing this to begin with. Before she could get to singing, he gestured to his messy bed, indicative of the fact that he slept properly last night, and looked at her in a way that said, “See? I did you proud.” Had she not been in as good a mood as she was in, she would have told him to make the bed and then come back to her. She was, however, and when he gave her a standing ovation, she nearly cried.

Jenna was sung to after that, during breakfast. She was more than happy to lend an ear, and by the end, Angela had her swaying in her seat with a grin that turned her into the twelve-year-old girl she had been last night.

Finally, the rest of the gang, during lunch. They collectively persuaded her into giving them a concert, complete with Caroline providing the backing vocals, Tyler the beat, and Bonnie and Elena the extremely poorly-planned choreography. By the end, her stomach ached from all the laughter they shared, and it was only afterwards that she realized Stefan had been watching from a distance. She subtly invited him to join them, but he shook his head with a gentle smile. Next time they spoke, she would ask him why.

Then it was Friday, and she was standing outside the auditorium. She wasn’t expecting Viola to usher her in this time, so she opened the doors on her own. Mr. Roberts was sitting in one of the black seats, and turned when he heard her.

“Angela. I wasn’t sure you’d show up.”

She ascended to the stage. “Do you know me for a quitter?”

He smiled. “No. I don’t. Well then, whenever you’re—”

“I’m ready.”

She aced the performance.

She couldn’t sleep that night either, though because a different part of her mind was in control. The excited, determined part of her that was both craving and dreading dinner with the Zhus.

It would be the perfect opportunity to bring up Jenna and how beneficial it would be to introduce them—Anna as a friend and Pearl as a prospective buyer—in order to begin forging a bond between them and the town of Mystic Falls.

It would also be the perfect opportunity to have a private chat with Pearl about Katherine’s betrayal. Something about the way Pearl carried herself made her think she would be an invaluable ally for when her old bestie showed up, and she was anxious to develop their relationship. Anna told her the morning before that they found a warlock willing to meet her at the dinner party, and though she wasn’t sure it would be enough to convince them she was telling the truth, it would be far from detrimental.

She didn’t wake Elena this time either, and grabbed the throw blanket from the couch. She made a mental note to oil the swing. Its creaking was annoying. She spent some time enjoying the cool night air in silence before the front door opened a crack. It was Jenna, and she still hadn’t changed into her pajamas. “Hey… what are you doing out here?”

“Could ask you the same thing.”

Her aunt sat beside her with a groan. “I was adult-ing. Taxes suck.”

“Don’t we have an accountant for that?”

“We did. Until he retired. Gotta find a new one. You?”

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

She felt bashful to admit it, but decided to anyway. “I’m too excited for tomorrow. Which is weird. I can’t remember the last time I was excited to wake up.”

Jenna’s expression became one of hope. “You know… that might just be the best news I’ve gotten all year.”

She laughed quietly, out of embarrassment, and looked away. “Oh, stop.”

“No, I mean it! I mean, with Tanner and everything, I was really worried that… God, Angie, I’m so happy for you.” Something in her eyes changed, and she straightened up. “It’s—it’s not because of a _boy,_ is it?”

That was the last thing she was expecting her to say, but how could she miss an opportunity to mess with her favorite aunt? “How’d you guess?”

“Are you serious?”

 _Jeremy does technically count as a boy, doesn’t he?_ “Dead serious.” Jenna’s eyes went wide. “But don’t tell Elena. It’s super secret business.”

“Oh. Yeah. Pfft, yeah, of course.” She cleared her throat. “So, uh, is he cute?”

“The cutest.” It was extremely obvious how difficult it was for Jenna to contain herself, and she struggled not to laugh.

“The cutest, huh? Well that’s… that’s cool. Is he tall?”

“Um… average height?”

“Okay. Okay, well that’s fine. That’s great, in fact. A cute, average-sized boy. The _cutest_ average-sized boy.”

“His eyes are just dreamy too.”

Jenna mouthed, “Oh my God,” and Angela couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore.

“I love you.”

Jenna chuckled. “Love you too.”

“Have I ever thanked you properly? For all you’ve done for us?”

“Oh, please. I haven’t done a thing.”

“Of course you have. You’ve been a giant help to Jeremy and Elena. And to me. Thank you for moving in with us.”

“Any aunt worth her salt would do the same.”

“Not any aunt.” She nudged her playfully. “The coolest aunt ever.”

Jenna huffed in embarrassment. “I should be thanking you. If you didn’t learn how to cook, I’d be an even bigger wreck of a guardian than I already am. Can you imagine me trying to make breakfast every morning? End up burning the house down.”

She looked up at the stars with a giggle. “No doubt about it.” Out the corner of her eye, she saw Jenna follow her line of sight.

“It’s nice out tonight.”

She must have jinxed it, because a breeze immediately made goosebumps erupt on her skin. She pulled the blanket closer against her body to get rid of them. A glance at Jenna showed that her day clothes weren’t nearly as light as the pajamas she was wearing were, but still, she had to ask.

“Are you cold?”

“Hm?” Jenna looked at her. “Eh, a little bit. You?”

“A little bit.”

“Wanna head inside?”

“Not really.”

Jenna noticed how she was clutching the blanket. “Want a thicker one?”

“I’m fine.”

“Well… I’m gonna get one for myself.” She went to stand, but Angela stopped her.

“Wait. You don’t have to get up.” She unfolded the blanket. “It’s big enough for the both of us.” They adjusted it so it was wrapped all the way around them, and though it pushed them close together, she found it was far from uncomfortable.

“Ooh.” Jenna snuggled further in. “This is cozy.” She pet the blanket. “And _soft_.”

“I know, right?”

Jenna looked back up at the stars, and the angle made her rest her chin on top of Angela’s head. “Can’t remember the last time I admired the sky like this.”

“Me neither. Been too busy recently.”

“Hm… we should have a family game night.”

That idea wasn’t half bad, considering it would provide an excellent way to have fun with Jeremy, like she promised. She thought for a moment. “Sunday?”

Jenna nodded against her head. “Sunday.”

There was another cool breeze, and an arm wrapped around her shoulders. She welcomed it. Jenna wasn’t as warm as her mother, she decided, but she was warm enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it's safe to say that if anyone harms a hair on Jeremy's head, they're dying asap.


	11. Superhero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jfc dude this fic’s gonna end up being a million words long haha. I might split it into a series honestly, if/when it reaches 180k words. I keep trying to cut down on stuff, but because I’m writing this chapter by chapter, it’s difficult to tell when information would best fit into the story, and that can sometimes lead to repetition.
> 
> I’m sorry for taking so long to update. This year’s been really rough so far, with my depression coming back, me finally finishing my essays and thinking I can stop being an anxious mess, just in time for my grandma to pass away… I’ve not been having the greatest of times, lads. Idk why I just said lads. I’m not British. Anyway. I hope this chapter’s stupid long length makes up for my absence. If you would be kind enough to let me know your thoughts, I would appreciate it a lot. Reading feedback always gives me serotonin, but please don’t feel pressured to say anything. Knowing people enjoy my work makes me happy enough ❤

**CHAPTER 10**

**_SUPERHERO_ **

The day found her easily, and sooner than she expected. Sooner than it found her sister, who had finally returned to being the morning person she’d been before the murder. In the midst of all the supernatural drama that had been happening recently, she took solace in the fact that things were slowly going back to normal. Whenever her sister wrote in her diary, she no longer had that heartbreakingly solemn look on her face. Her brother laughed more, and didn’t need someone to be present whenever he opened his closet. Jenna was more relaxed, the way she used to be before she lived with them.

And Angela, for the first time in months, felt happy. It was as if something fell back into place yesterday. As if a part of her was restored. She cherished the light in her chest, and decided not to think about it leaving her again. If she did, she would risk snuffing it out herself.

The forecast said today would be warm, so she went with a light yellow sundress as the base for her outfit before meticulously doing her makeup. Whenever she was in a good mood like this, she always spent more time on her appearance, subconsciously making sure she looked as amazing as she felt. With what she told Jenna last night, she was sure she would get teased for it.

The house was still asleep when she headed out the back door to the patio couch, her fingers pressing the keys of her BlackBerry to let Anna know she was awake. They had gotten to know each other better over the past week, with them meeting every day, and Angela had been surprised to learn how much like a teenage girl she could sometimes be. A sixteen-year-old girl, since apparently that was the age at which she was turned. She did have a bit of a sadistic streak, but at her core she’d proven herself to be kind and loyal, and despite the comically different lives they led, she was glad they were becoming friends.

“You’re lucky I don’t sleep a lot.”

She looked up at the sound of Anna’s voice, and once her words sunk in, gave a teasing smile. “A morning person _and_ a night owl? How many babies did you have to sacrifice to get that deal?”

Anna huffed and sat beside her. “You start to lose count after a while.” She raised her wrist to her mouth and bit down with a quiet _crunch_. Angela had gotten so used to the sound it barely filled her with disgust. “Here. Breakfast.”

The taste of her blood had changed to become almost palatable with time, and if she concentrated hard enough, she could almost fool herself into thinking it was pomegranate juice. She wondered if it was because she’d gotten more used to drinking her blood specifically, or just vampire blood in general. Maybe if she tasted Stefan’s again it would be even sweeter. The unbidden thought made her cheeks heat up, and she pulled away before Anna could notice the change in temperature. “Thank you. We’re still on for tonight, I assume.”

“We are.” Anna eyed what she was wearing. “You should keep that on. It fits the dress code.”

“Oh. Good to know. Should Tyler wear a tux?”

“No, that’d be too dressy.”

“Smart casual. Got it.”

“Uh, yeah, sure.” She let out an amused breath. “Whatever that means.”

“Well, you should know, shouldn’t you? You’re five hundred years old.”

“I also only have three looks. Dress, not dress, and sleep.”

A dark chuckle passed her lips. “The girls are gonna have fun with you.” The way Anna’s eyes became panicked made her chuckle again, but she decided to be merciful and change the subject. “Just to be sure, you’re still keeping your promise about Elena, right?”

Shortly after their first meeting, she asked Pearl to keep the doppelgänger thing a secret until she felt it right to tell Elena herself. The arrival of not only two, but five vampires so soon after their parents were presumably killed by one was enough for her sister to deal with. Learning that she shared a face with a five-hundred-year-old psychopath could wait.

“You know,” Anna said slowly, “she’s gonna find out sooner or later.”

“Why? Did your mom say something?”

“No. I’m saying something. You said she doesn’t like you keeping secrets. This is a pretty big secret.”

“I don’t want her head to explode. I’ll tell her eventually, I just want her to get used to being around vampires all the time.”

Anna sighed, and though she didn’t say it, it was clear she disapproved. “We’ll keep our promise. As long as you keep yours, about the Council.”

“The Council doesn’t know nearly as much about vampires as they’d like to. And they’re not as smart as they think. As long as you don’t take off your ring or touch any vervain, you should be fine. I have a few ideas on how we should start making them trust you that I’d like to talk about tonight. Blending in’s the big one.”

“Blending in’s the only reason we moved into a house so quaint.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Quaint? Are your pillowcases knitted and everything?”

“Yes, actually.”

She pushed herself off the couch with a smile. “I look forward to seeing them. Now, I need to make breakfast for everyone.”

Anna wagged an arm. “Could just give them some of my blood.”

“Mm… think I’ll pass. Don’t want them complaining because the jam tasted weird.”

That startled a genuine laugh out of her, complete with the most adorable little snort she’d ever heard. Anna slapped a hand over her nose and looked at her, wide-eyed in panic. They stayed in bewildered silence until Anna lowered her hand and glared. “ _Never_. Mention that.”

Angela gave a single, grave nod. “Okay.”

“…Okay.” Teenage girl indeed.

Jenna was onto her.

It started with breakfast, when she came down the stairs for coffee and caught Angela humming in the kitchen. She squinted at her through those thick black glasses she only wore when she was fresh from sleep, looked her up and down, and said, “Cute outfit,” in a tone that implied something totally different than what she said.

Angela replied with a simple, “Thank you,” as if she couldn’t tell what she was getting at.

Jenna slurped her coffee noisily. “Why’re you wearing it?”

“It’s cute.”

“Uh-huh…”

She felt a grin forming on her face. “If you want to say something, say it.”

“Oh, no.” She walked to the table and chose a chair. “I’m just telling my favorite niece she looks pretty.”

“Your favorite?” The sound of Elena’s voice made her look over her shoulder. Her sister poured herself some coffee and sat next to Jenna. “Rude.”

Jenna snorted. “You’re twins. It doesn’t count. You’re basically the same person.”

Angela looked Elena up and down, taking note of how warm and traditionally Gilbert her looks were, as opposed to the contrasting cool-toned features she sported. Sometimes she found it odd, how her sister was the doppelgänger yet she was the odd one out. “You honestly don’t know how funny that is.” She served the French toast and set it down on the table.

They were in the process of filling their plates when Elena paused, fork-wielding hand stuck in some food. She looked at Angela with a frown. “You’re wearing heels. Inside the house.”

“And?”

“You hate it when we wear shoes inside. You make us all wear slippers.”

She shrugged and took a bite. “It’s a good practice. Makes us not have to mop every day.”

Elena huffed. “Right, so why are _you_ wearing heels?”

“Yeah, Angie.” Jenna had a knowing smirk on her face. “How come you look so good today?”

“What, am I not allowed to look good anymore?”

“Sure you do. I just find it interesting.”

“I find _you_ interesting, auntie-mine.”

“You’re in a good mood. I wonder why.”

“How can I not be in a good mood when I get to experience living with you?”

“Flattery will get you nowhere.”

“Have I ever told you how pretty you are? I mean, seriously, Scumfell missed out big time.”

“Mm… nice try, but no. Not distracting me. Though we can talk about _boys_ all you want.”

Elena looked confused. “I’m missing something. Aren’t I? Why…” Her eyes widened, and Angela could tell that it finally clicked.

“Alright.” She stood. “I’m gonna wake up Jeremy.”

Elena’s mouth fell open as she stammered incoherently. “Wait!”

“Nope!” She was up the stairs before you could say ‘chicanery.’

The second time Jenna called her out was hours later, when she was getting ready to go to Sheila’s house. The group decided they would go over their game plan there, since doing it at the Gilbert, Forbes, or Lockwood residence might draw undue attention.

Elena had already met up with the others, but Angela stayed behind. Her waves always looked better when they were freshly washed, and with the girls inevitably crowding the sink, she didn’t want to hog even more space in the Bennett bathroom.

She pulled open the front door to exit the house when she was spotted. At the sound of footsteps, her eyes flicked over to see Jenna’s strawberry blonde ponytail swishing down the stairs, her eyes locked on her in suspicion. “Where are _you_ going?”

“Out.”

“When are you coming back?”

“Later.” When the suspicious look on her face didn’t dissipate, Angela smiled as innocently as she could. “Is that a problem?”

“No. Why would it be a problem?” Her all too curious eyes told her she wanted to dig, and had she had more time, she would be happy to oblige. Unfortunately, it was nearly six o’clock, and she had no idea how ready the others were.

“Alright then. Bye.”

Jenna let out a groan that made her pause again. “Okay. I can’t do this anymore. Spill.”

“Spill what?”

“Who’s the guy?”

She turned away to hide a grin. “No.”

“No? What’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

“It’s a simple word, Jenny-wenny. Thought you learned it as a baby.”

Her face hardened to create a stern, disapproving expression, perfectly befitting her role as their guardian. “Angela Liana Gilbert.”

The usage of her full name only deepened her amusement. “Wow, you’re really serious about this, aren’t you?”

“You’ve literally never shown interest in anyone. Of course I’m serious. At least tell me what he looks like. You said his eyes are dreamy. What color are they?”

 _Eh, what’s the harm? It’s just one question._ “Blue.”

“Hair?”

 _Okay. Two questions._ “Brown.”

“Light brown or dark brown?”

 _Three._ She breathed a laugh. “Dark brown.”

It was obvious that the gears inside her head were turning, hoping to find someone that matched that description. “Hm… how old is he?”

“I have to go, you know.”

She leaned in close. “How old is he?”

“See ya!”

The last thing she heard before shutting the door behind her was, “That means he’s older!”

It didn’t take long to get to Sheila’s house, and as soon as she rang the doorbell, she was dragged inside by Tyler, frantic and frustrated-looking.

“Hey!” He gestured towards his clothes. “Does this count as whatever the hell smart casual is?”

 _Does no one in this town know men’s fashion?_ “Yes, it does.” She patted his shoulder and walked past him. “Proud of you.”

He victoriously turned to Bonnie, who was sitting on the couch. “See?”

“No.” Her tone was full of mischief. “You definitely have to go back and change.”

His nostrils flared. “I’m gonna kill you.”

Bonnie snickered, the sound distorting halfway through as Angela sat down next to her. “Is that before or after you throw me at a wall?”

“Before.”

“Oh, good. Hate to actually feel it.”

Angela chuckled. “You look beautiful by the way.”

“Thanks.” Bonnie smiled. “You look beautiful too.”

“The other two still getting ready?”

“Mhm, in the bathroom.” She looked at Tyler when he sat down in the armchair, and then back at her. “So…um…what’s Pearl like?”

“Pearl?” Tyler asked. “Thought you’d be more interested in Anna.” 

“I already met Anna. Pearl’s the mom. She’s older. Seems like the bigger threat.”

“She’s reasonable,” Angela said. “As long as she doesn’t feel slighted, everything should go fine.”

Tyler crossed his arms and got more comfortable. “How ‘bout the dude? Harper.”

“I haven’t talked to him much, but he seems nice. Like he wouldn’t hurt someone unless he had to. Besides, Bonnie’s right. Pearl’s the biggest threat. If she doesn’t want us hurt, he and Anna won’t do anything. I’m almost positive.”

“Almost?”

She shrugged. “As with anything.”

That answer didn’t put him at ease. “Angie… are you sure about this?”

“As with anything.” He looked at her flatly, and she rolled her eyes. “What, do you want me to lie to you?”

“No, I just—” He leaned forward to rest his forearms against his knees. “I’m worried about you.”

“About _us_. We do this together. Or did something change?”

“No, of course not, it’s just— it’s hard to focus on anyone but you. When, uh, when you’re the one getting thrown at trees by ghosts.”

“That was weeks ago.”

“Week. One week ago.”

“ _Over_ one week ago.” He shot her another look. “Ty, everything’s fine. I broke down; cried; had a panic attack. The whole shebang. I’m feeling good now.”

“You know it’s not that simple,” Bonnie muttered.

She did. But she also knew that it was impossible to predict when life would next throw her a curveball, or whether her own mind would get to her first. And she didn’t want to try. Not now. Not as long as she felt that light in her chest. “It is today.”

The sound of a door opening drew her attention to the hallway that led further into the house. Elena and Caroline soon rounded the corner, and Caroline’s face brightened at the sight of her. “Oh, good! You’re here.” She did a spin, her blue-and-white dress swaying from the momentum. “How do I look?”

She gave a warm smile. “Stunning. All of you. You look stunning.” And so very grown-up. When did they all grow up? Better yet, when did she become a mom?

Elena came to sit next to her. She intertwined their fingers and drew a deep, steadying breath. “Game plan.”

Angela squeezed her hand. “Game plan.” She reached into her purse, shoving past the stake that matched the one Elena carried with her, and instead withdrawing five small vials of liquid. “Vervain. Take one and drink it. I know we can’t be compelled, but if something goes wrong and a vampire bites us, this’ll stun them.”

Bonnie seemed wary. “Is that something we need to worry about?”

“Not really, but it’s good to be covered on as many fronts as possible.”

Tyler grabbed the one closest to him. “Couldn’t hurt.”

“Bottoms up.” She downed hers and watched as, one-by-one, the others followed suit. When they were done, she put the empty vials to the side for future use. “Now, since Bon-Bon doesn’t have a tattoo, she gets this fancy little thing.” She brandished a syringe, making Caroline cock a brow.

“What,” she started sarcastically, “is she gonna play doctor with the spooky scaries?”

“That’s vervain too,” Elena said. “Our ancestor wrote about it in one of his journals. If you stick it in a vampire, they’re meant to pass out.”

Angela nodded and handed it to Bonnie. “That’s right. But remember. We’ll only resort to violence if it’s in self-defense.”

Bonnie looked at it curiously. “Won’t they know I have this?”

“As far as I know, they can’t detect vervain unless it’s right against their nose. Which usually makes it way too late.” Unless, of course, they kiss Elena’s hand like a perverted douchebag.

“Huh…” She smiled mischievously and put it away. “Sucks to be them.”

Tyler narrowed his eyes. “Self-defense, Bonster.”

“Hey, it’s your job to be trigger happy, small-wood. But if I don’t use it tonight, I’m definitely carrying it around in school. Since Anna’s gonna be there.”

Caroline threw her head back and groaned. “Don’t remind me. If she comes for any of my titles, I’ll sue.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Angela said in amusement. “Girl only has three outfits.”

“Ugh, seriously?”

“Oh, don’t be mean. I’m sure after a couple centuries, trying to keep up with the latest fashion trends gets tiring.”

“Being old should make it easier to look good, not harder. It’s a skill. Like carpentry.”

“Yeah,” Bonnie said, “or brewing your own tea.”

“Yeah. Or lame-o witch tea brewing.”

“Hey! Who are you calling a lame-o witch?”

Caroline put her hands on her hips. “Okay, Bonnie? Any witch whose most exciting hobby outside of cheerleading is _making tea_? Is lame.”

A pillow smacked her in the face, courtesy of the one and only Bonnie Bennett, and startled a laugh out of Elena. Caroline, on the other hand, was not amused. There was a blank look in her face that spelled danger. “I’m gonna kill you.”

“Yeah?” Bonnie grinned. “Get in line.” She yelped when Caroline charged her, pillow in hand, and began attacking.

Tyler had been frowning the entire time, and Angela finally decided to say something. “You okay?”

His eyes focused on her. “What? Yeah, I just— I mean, I’ve been wondering for a while now, how can Anna be in school? Vampires can’t walk in the sun.”

_Oh._

Caroline blinked, letting go of the pillow she’d been pretending to suffocate Bonnie with. “Wait, that’s right. Vampires can’t walk in the sun. Can they?”

_Oh, no._

When she stayed silent, Tyler’s eyebrows rose. “Angie. Can vampires walk in the sun?”

“Um…” She winced. “Not most of them?”

Caroline’s eyes went wide. “What?”

Tyler looked at her in disbelief. “Are you serious?”

“Yes?”

“Why didn’t you tell any of us?” he exclaimed.

“She did,” Elena said with a sigh. “She told me.”

“And you kept quiet too?”

“I asked her to,” Angela said.

“Why?”

Why indeed. An answer left her before she had time to think about it, but when it did, she realized it was the truth. “There’s someone I didn’t wanna out.”

His mouth dropped open. “You mean there’s another vampire in town?”

“Yeah, but… he’s been good to me. We’re friends.”

Something in his disposition changed. In his posture; the set of his jaw; the look in his eye. He was no longer astonished. Now, he was angry. “You’re friends.”

“Yes. We’re friends. Is that so difficult to believe?”

“You haven’t made a friend since me.”

She shrugged. “Someone had to be next. Why not him?”

“Because he’s a—” He cut himself off. “He’s a vampire. We don’t make friends with vampires.”

“That’s a really bad outlook to have on a night like tonight.”

He scoffed. “You’re kidding, right?”

She leaned forward, trying to get through to him. “It wasn’t my secret to tell, Ty. It still isn’t. It’s his. If I thought he was a threat, I would’ve told you immediately.”

“How can you say he’s not a threat when one of his kind killed your parents?”

“If a human killed them, would you want me to hate you instead?”

“Don’t. Don’t do that. It’s not the same and you know it.”

“It’s _exactly_ the same.”

“He’s a monster,” he spit the word like it was poison, and a hot rush of anger filled her chest. “And Anna’s a monster too. Maybe they didn’t hurt you like that dick, Damon, did, but they’re still monsters.”

“Tyler, witches are monsters. Humans are monsters.” _You’re a monster, and I love you all the same._ “If an alien saw everything humanity has done, don’t you think it would call us evil?”

“We don’t need blood to survive.”

“You’re right. We don’t. Yet we draw it anyway. That makes us worse than vampires. Not better.”

“Right.” He stood and ran a hand through his hair. “Here I am, trying to protect you, and there’s some guy I don’t even know about. I mean, what if he tries something? What if he hurts you and none of us can put him down because we don’t even know his name?”

She glanced at Elena. Saw that she understood who they were talking about. That she would understand what she was about to say. “If that ever happens, you’ll know exactly who he is.”

He shook his head. “I can’t believe you. You’re willing to risk your safety just to keep some _asshole’s_ secret.”

It wasn’t as bad as the word Jeremy had been called, but at that moment, all she wanted to do was slap him. That frightened her. The fact that Stefan had become a person she was willing to defend in front of her family like that. But just as she’d gotten to know Anna, she’d gotten to know him, and decided he was worth defending.

She looked at him evenly. “I wouldn’t be so hasty to call him that if I were you. Other than Damon, the only asshole that’s made me have a panic attack is you.”

Maybe if she slapped him, the look on his face would have been less painful. He looked lost for a moment, like he wasn’t sure he heard her properly. Like he couldn’t have. It was a look that immediately made her want to take her words back. She didn’t mean it. She only wanted to hurt him. He had to know she didn’t mean it, right? “Tyler—”

“No.” He shook his head. “No.” Without another word, he left the house, letting the door slam shut behind him.

She got up, fully intending on following him, but something held her in place. She looked at her hand, and at who was attached to it. “I have to talk to him, Lena. We have to be united tonight.”

“I know. And we will be.” Elena stood up. “Let me talk to him.”

She frowned. “But—”

“It would be better if I talked to him. Please, trust me.”

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her. She just wanted to know why she was insisting. “Wh—”

“Trust. Me.”

Her frown deepened. “Okay.”

Elena smiled. “Thank you.” She made her way out of the house, leaving her alone with Bonnie and Caroline.

“Um,” Caroline said, “I’m… gonna…” She stood up and gestured vaguely towards the hallway. “Just come get me when he’s back to normal, okay? Because if there’s one thing I don’t miss from our relationship, it’s… _that_.”

And then there were two.

“It’s Stefan, isn’t it?”

Her heart nearly stopped. She turned to look at Bonnie. She didn’t seem upset or betrayed in any way, but almost satisfied. Like she finally solved a problem that had been bothering her for days.

“The vampire you’re friends with,” she added, and it snapped her out of her shock.

“Uh… yeah.”

Bonnie’s eyes gleamed in triumph. “I knew it. When Bree described what it felt like to touch one, it clicked, but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how he walked around during the day.”

“That ring he wears. Emily Bennett enchanted it. As long as a vampire wears it, they can walk in the sun.”

Bonnie frowned. “Hold on, Emily? But wasn’t she—”

“From the nineteenth century? Yeah. I had to alter the tomb story so no one would suspect him. Katherine pretended to be thrown in with everyone else in 1864, not in 2007. It was opened for the first time this month. Not the second.”

“But… then that makes the Salvatores…”

“Old?”

“Yeah,” she breathed. “That makes them old.”

“Yeah.” She bit her lip. “Look… only Elena and your grams know the truth. Please don’t tell Care and Tyler. It’s not our secret, and I genuinely don’t believe he’s a threat to any of us.”

“Is that why you’ve been hanging out with him? To see if he’s a threat or not?”

“No. I’ve been hanging out with him because I like him. A lot. Please promise me you won’t tell anyone.”

Bonnie’s eyebrows furrowed in thought. Silence lingered for so long she almost repeated her request, but then… “I promise.”

She searched her face for any signs of deceit, and found none. “Thank you.”

“You said there’s little you wouldn’t do for me. Well, guess what. There’s little I wouldn’t do for you, too.”

Her heart melted. “Do you have any idea how lucky I am to have you in my life?”

“About as lucky as I am to have you in mine. If you weren’t around, Grams would’ve passed away. I’ll never forget that, Ann. Never.”

“You don’t even know if I was telling the truth.”

“No, I know. Call it magic or intuition or our weird family link, but… I’m positive you were telling the truth about her. I just am.”

They passed some time talking about lighter subjects, among which was—much to her delight—the nasty rumor that had begun to circulate about a certain mousy blonde bully. Just as Bonnie started recounting a conversation she had with some cute guy the other day, the front door swung open. In stepped Elena and Tyler, who looked considerably calmer than he did before.

Angela stood up and hesitantly approached him. He didn’t seem to mind, so she took another couple steps. When he didn’t object that time either, she finally closed the distance and brought him into a hug.

“I’m so, so sorry,” she muttered into his shoulder. He slowly wrapped his arms around her, but said nothing. After a time, she pulled back to examine his face. He looked like he wanted to say something, but wasn’t sure how. “I didn’t mean what I said. It wasn’t your fault. You know that, right?”

“I know,” he said quietly. He had yet to let go of her, and for some reason it made a pit form in her stomach. “We should go now, if we don’t wanna be late.”

She nodded. “I’ll get Caroline.”

“I’m already here.” Angela turned to see her standing at the edge of the living room, eyes flicking between her and Tyler. “Are we…”

“Back to normal.”

Caroline sighed in relief and smiled, though it looked strained. _Not strained,_ her mind whispered. _Fake._ Why would it be fake? “Good! Let’s go.”

They reached Pearl’s house within minutes. It was pretty; a white sided, grey roofed, two-story colonial with a respectable lawn, it rode the line between middle- and upper-class without marking its residents as wealthy enough to raise any questions. It made her wonder what story they’d come up with for themselves.

She parked the car and turned off the engine, taking a moment to look at them all. The entire ride through, the back seat had been teeming with nervous energy, with Bonnie getting progressively more and more fidgety, Tyler being stiff as a board, and Caroline babbling about nothing and everything. “We ready?”

Caroline bounced from her spot between Bonnie and Tyler, that fake smile plastered on her face. “Ready! To meet… our maker.”

Bonnie looked at her, bewildered. “Thanks, that makes things so much better.”

“Okay, can you _not_ be sarcastic when I’m trying not to freak?”

“I get sarcastic when _I’m_ trying not to freak!”

“Guys,” Angela chuckled, “everything will be fine. Let me and Elena handle everything. You just be your normal, lovable selves.” She turned to her sister, whose deep, brown eyes were full of warmth.

“Come on,” she said. “Let’s do this.”

“Alright.” Angela gripped the handle and gave them one last look. “Maniacs? Roll out.”

They climbed the steps to the porch, the sound of their footsteps loud against the dark grey stone. She pressed the doorbell and waited, until finally the door was pulled open. Harper was on the other side, and there was a small, kind smile on his face she found impossible not to reciprocate. “Good evening, Ms. Gilbert. I hope tonight finds you in good health.”

Though they hadn’t spoken nearly as many times as she and Anna had, his impeccable manners and genuine disposition always made her feel at ease. “It does, thank you. I would ask you the same, but… given your undead state, I think the answer’s obvious.”

His smile turned into a chuckle. “Indeed.” He gave a cursory glance to her companions, though his gaze lingered on Elena. “Please,” he gestured behind him, “come in.”

The inside was cozy and adopted a more minimalistic style than what she’d been expecting. Full of dark wood and light colors, she wondered whether it was furnished by one of them or by a professional. Either way, she found it lovely. He began leading them down the hallway, passing by doors and archways she curiously looked through.

“So,” Caroline piped up. “Are you Harper?”

“I am. And I believe you’re Ms. Forbes.”

“Yeah, Caroline. Nice to meet you. Um, how old are you?” She found that question funnier than she probably should have.

“One-hundred-sixty-six years old. I was twenty-one when Ms. Pearl found me, close to death on a battlefield. She healed me.”

“Healed you?” She chuckled nervously. “Did she… have to turn you into a vampire too?” That question, she did not find funny.

“No. I wanted her to.” He opened a pair of sliding doors, and invited them to enter.

The first thing that caught her eye was the fireplace. It was directly in front of them, with a television mounted above it and an armchair on either side. In front of it, two cream-colored loveseats faced each other with a wooden coffee table to divide them. She immediately gravitated towards the armchair to her left, since the knitted pillowcases it sported were prettier.

Elena sat directly to the side of her, and to Elena’s side sat Tyler. The girls sat across from them, leaving Harper to sit in the armchair closest to her. “Ms. Pearl will be down shortly. I’m afraid you’ll have to contend with me in the meantime.”

Angela gave him a smile. “You say that like it’s a negative. It only gives us more time to get to know each other. I’d like for us to become friends.”

“I’d like that as well.” His eyes found Elena. “You must be Angela’s sister. Elena, right?”

Elena nodded. “Yeah. You already know Caroline, and this is Tyler, and Bonnie.”

“Bonnie… _Bennett_?”

She was nervously playing with the hem of her burgundy, flowery dress. “Uh, yeah. Did you know my ancestor, Emily?”

“We met. Briefly. She was closer with Ms. Pearl than she was with me. Though not too close, I think, since she wanted to leave her trapped forever.”

Bonnie winced. “I’m… sorry. For that.”

He shook his head. “Where one member of your bloodline abandoned us, another one saved us.” He gave her one of his smiles, warm, and absent of any ill will. “For that, I am forever grateful.”

Something in Bonnie changed. Her face relaxed; her shoulders dropped. She was less afraid, like she finally understood what Angela had been trying to tell them. Vampires were monsters the way humans were monsters, and good the way humans were good. Just more. She gave him a smile, sincere in its own right. “You’re welcome.”

He turned his head to Angela. “I must thank you as well.”

 _This again…_ “Thank yourselves. If any of you were cruel, I would have left you to burn with the others.”

He went silent. “I suppose I should consider myself lucky. Watching someone light my pyre as I lay unmoving… it would be a bad way to go.”

Indeed, what she did was horrific. And yet… “It had to be done.”

He inclined his head, eyes never leaving hers. That was something he did a lot, she noticed. Nonstop eye contact. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she remembered that eye contact was meant to make people trust you. She suddenly realized how dangerous that could be. How dangerous _he_ could be. What did she know about him really? Him and his impeccable manners; his genuine disposition; his nonstop eye contact… maybe she misjudged him completely. “Maybe.” She startled at how he echoed her thoughts, before recalling the last thing she said.

“I couldn’t take the chance,” she replied, mouth suddenly dry. “Most of them would have been unhappy under Pearl’s rule. Rebellious. They would have led to your demise, which would have hurt us both.”

“Then we are further in your debt.” At the new voice, she turned her head towards the entrance. Pearl, Anna, and a man she didn’t know stepped into the living room. “Assuming that is true.” Pearl smiled, hands clasped in front of her. “Welcome. I hope you didn’t have any issues getting here.”

She stood up. She wasn’t sure why. Out of respect maybe, but it made the rest of them stand up too. “None whatsoever. Thank you for the invitation. You have a beautiful home.”

Amusement flickered in her eyes. “Perfectly befitting a biologist seeking to open her own apothecary, is it not?”

Biologist. Good choice. “I should think so.”

Her gaze shifted to Elena, and had Angela blinked, she would have missed how her face tightened in shock. She recovered quickly, and extended a hand. “You must be Elena. My name is Pearl.”

Elena shook it, though her fear was visible. “Nice to meet you.”

Pearl greeted them one by one, and when introductions were over, she motioned towards Anna. “This is my daughter, Annabelle.”

“Call me Anna.”

“And this,” she motioned towards the man, “is Felix. Our warlock.”

Felix was relatively young. College age, if she wasn’t mistaken. Every garment he wore was black, even the leather satchel at his side, and made the contrasting red of his hair and blue of his eyes stand out even more. He stepped forward with an easy expression, but Angela was an expert when it came to playing innocent. She had to be, for her parents to never suspect her. She could tell he was one step away from casting a spell and killing her. “I don’t mind being called a witch.” He took her hand, and a wave of fear rolled through her. “You must be the mystery girl.”

She glanced at her sister and forced a chuckle. “Mystery girl? I like the sound of that.”

“You can do magic?” Bonnie asked.

He let go of her. “I can. And your powers are awakening.”

Bonnie bit her lip. “Can you… I mean, would we be able to talk at some point? I’d like to ask you some things.”

“Sure, maybe.” He brought a black business card out of his pocket and gave it to her. “Give me a call sometime. See what I can do.” His words got a grateful smile out of Bonnie, and Angela wanted to shake her. Couldn’t she see how dangerous he was?

“Annabelle,” Pearl said. “Would you escort Angela’s companions to the dining room?”

Tyler frowned and took a protective step towards Angela. “What about her?”

“She’ll be with you in a moment.”

“Why not now?”

“It’s okay, Ty.” She had a good idea as to why Pearl wanted her alone, and it had to do with verifying her story. “I’ll be fine.” That didn’t alleviate the distrust he held in his eyes, nor did it make him back down.

Pearl chuckled. “Do you honestly believe that if I wanted to hurt her I would need your permission? I invited you to a civilized dinner party, and a civilized dinner party I intend to have. I suggest you listen to her.”

He clenched his jaw. “But—”

“Tyler,” Angela cut him off. “I’ll be fine. I promise.”

“Come on,” Caroline muttered. She gently pulled him back and looked at Anna. “Where’s the dining room?”

“I’ll show you.”

Before they left, Elena gave her a soft, reassuring smile. “I love you,” she mouthed, and Angela couldn’t help but smile. “I love you too,” she mouthed back.

As soon as they were gone, Harper slid the wooden doors shut, and she was, for all intents and purposes, trapped. “So,” she casually sat back down, trying not to show her fear, “am I right in assuming this is about my reincarnation?”

“You are,” Pearl said. “Felix?”

“She wasn’t lying.” He sat directly in front of her, on the coffee table, and their knees bumped against each other. It nearly broke her calm façade, as it was all she could do not to flinch away. “I’ve never met one of you before. Wasn’t even sure you existed.”

“Yeah, well…” She awkwardly cleared her throat. “As far as I understand, we’re really rare.”

“I know. I had to dig through my ancestors’ stuff just to get my facts straight. I brought a copy of everything I found, if you want it.”

And just like that, all fear left her. “Are you serious?” In all her years as Angela Gilbert, she hadn’t once been able to find a reliable, detailed piece of information regarding people like her.

A smile played on his lips as he reached for his satchel. It took a moment for him to dig through it, but eventually he retrieved a slim, beige folder. “Here.”

She took it from him slowly. Carefully. Like it would rip if she was too rough, and all the knowledge would be lost. “I…” She looked back at him. “I don’t know what to say.” How could she? Maybe she misjudged him like she misjudged Harper. Not even Sheila had been able to provide her with an entire folder, and her bloodline was ancient.

And how could she not feel hope when he smiled at her like that? Like she was his dearest friend, reunited after decades? When his eyes were so bright and blue, like Jeremy’s and her father’s? When he had given her so much information. Information she wanted more than anything. What kind of monster would she be if she didn’t return the favor?

He leaned forward, and she thought that maybe, just maybe, if he came a tiny bit closer, she could dive into the beautiful water that made up his eyes. “Was the story you told Anna the truth?”

“Yes.” The word left her as a whisper, quick and quiet, because the only voice she wanted to hear was his.

“Do you mean the vampires in this house any harm?”

“No.”

“Would the vampires in this house be dead if not for you?”

“Eventually.”

“Are you planning on honoring your deal with Pearl?”

“Yes.”

“How many of the people you brought here tonight can be trusted?”

“All.”

A distant, feminine voice said something, and Felix pulled away. She gave a slow, sluggish blink, and with it came the realization of what just happened. Cold dread washed over her. She opened the folder. Inside were ten pages of empty paper. A bluff. Of course it had been a bluff. If Sheila Bennett hadn’t been able to provide anything, how some random warlock? No. Of course she hadn’t misjudged him. And going by the uncomfortable look on Harper’s face, she hadn’t misjudged him either.

“I apologize for the deception,” Pearl said. “The spell required a strong, emotional reaction from you. This seemed the best way to do that without seriously threatening you.” Threatening her would have been the better option. She’d been threatened before, by Damon and Emily. The emotion she felt now she’d never felt before, and it nearly put out the light in her chest.

“I’ve never heard of a spell like that.”

“Because it’s not as efficient as you think.” Felix’s voice was much colder than she remembered it. Detached. The smile was gone from his face, and his eyes were empty. He took the folder from her hands and put it back in his satchel. “So not many people bother to learn it. It’s a truth spell, technically, but only for information you’d give us anyway. If you wanted to keep it secret, you just wouldn’t answer.”

She refused to acknowledge him, eyes remaining glued to Pearl. “Is he staying for dinner?”

“No. I’m afraid he has other business to attend to.” That was all this was to him. Business.

“Good.” She stood up and slid the doors open, stopping for a moment to look behind her. “I never want to see him again.”

The chatter she heard from further in the house was her guide, and led her to the dining room. The wooden table in the middle was long, seated eight people comfortably, and above it hung a chandelier. On one side were Elena, Tyler, and an empty chair she assumed was hers. Across from them was Caroline, flanked by Bonnie on the side closest to her, and Anna on the other. It was Anna that noticed her first, as she was already looking in her direction. Her contented expression faltered when she got a look at her face.

 _“Did you know?”_ she asked wordlessly. The way Anna’s expression dropped completely told her that yes, she did.

Caroline noticed her next, and she instinctively made herself smile for her. Caroline smiled back, clueless. “Hey! Guess where you get to sit.”

“Where?”

“Across from me.” At the new voice, she nearly snorted. _Do you make a habit of sneaking up on people and announcing things?_ She turned around. Pearl motioned to one of the head seats. “You are the guest of honor, are you not?”

“You flatter me.” She went to sit down, and when Harper came to assist her, the smile she gave him was genuine. An apology for doubting him, even if he never knew. “Thank you,” she whispered. He nodded kindly and sat down in the chair she thought was hers.

Elena was across from Bonnie, to her left, and gently grabbed her hand. “You okay?”

 _To lie or not to lie?_ “I’m okay.”

She didn’t seem fully convinced, but some of the tension left her body. That was good. Tonight had to go perfectly.

“I apologize for the delay.” Pearl sat down. “Have we missed any conversation?”

Caroline perked up. “We were just talking about all the activities Mystic Falls has to offer!”

“They were telling me about the Founders’ Party,” Anna said. “Apparently they still have those.”

It wasn’t part of the plan, but since the gang figured out the truth about the rings, she would be stupid not to take this opportunity. “It’s this Thursday. You should come. The Council doesn’t know that vampires can walk in the sun. It would help erase suspicion.”

Pearl nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind. Has the Council been active all this time?”

“No. It reformed after our parents died. Were killed. By a vampire.”

“Oh… my condolences.”

How many times had she heard those words? Her response was instinct by now. “Thank you.”

Elena gently cleared her throat. “Speaking of the Council… I read what they did to you. What _he_ did to you. Johnathan?” Pearl stiffened. “I can’t apologize because I’m not him, but as a Gilbert I can promise you… this time, history won’t be repeating itself.”

Pearl was silent for a time. “Let us hope,” she finally said, “for all our sakes, that your penchant for truth comes from your sister.” Her head turned to the side. “Margaret,” she called out. “Our first course.”

The dark, wooden door behind her opened, and out came a middle-aged blonde pushing a trolley full of food.

Tyler looked between them in confusion. “Who’s this?”

“The woman that owns this house,” Pearl said. “Technically. We went through the proper, legal means of possessing it, but the deed is in her name. This way, no unwanted vampires can enter.”

He watched as a plate of soup was placed in front of him. “Did you have to compel her?”

Margaret looked at him with a smirk on her mauve, painted lips. “Please. I grew up on Anne Rice. The only thing she compelled me to do was never betray her. After I let her.”

At his still confused expression, Pearl spoke up. “Of all the things that have been invented since I was desiccated, I must admit that the internet is the most marvelous. Did you know that there are entire forums of humans happy to give themselves to creatures like us?”

Some light returned in the form of mirth, and Angela chuckled. “Welcome to the twenty-first century, Pearl. It only gets weirder from here.”

Pearl lifted her wineglass with a smile. “Here’s to braving it.”

She lifted her glass in turn, seeing everyone else do the same. “And to the friendships it has in store for you.”

It was an aromatic white wine, which she imagined paired beautifully with what she could now tell was butternut squash soup. She picked up her spoon and brought some to her lips. Yes. She nearly sighed at the comforting taste. It paired beautifully.

Pearl quietly cleared her throat. “Ms. Bennett.”

Bonnie stopped eating and looked up. “Yes? Uh… ma’am?”

“Please, call me Pearl.” Bonnie nodded delicately. “It’s your grandmother we have to thank for freeing us, is it not?”

“I guess. Yeah. Other than Ann.”

“You… mean Anna?”

“Oh,” she winced, “no, sorry, I mean Angie. Angela. I couldn’t say her name right as a baby, so I always called her Ann. It… kind of stuck.”

“Ah. But it was your grandmother who overpowered Emily, no? I should like to meet her when she wakes. Thank her in person.”

“She… doesn’t really like vampires.”

“What witch does? It only furthers my belief that she would want to know who she risked her life for.”

Bonnie chuckled nervously. “You don’t know her.”

“No. But I know people. Witches among them. Bennetts among them.”

“If… you don’t mind me asking, what was she like? Emily?”

She set her spoon down with a quiet _click_ , gracefully bringing her hands together to support her chin. “Emily… Emily was kind. To those she considered friends, she was loyal to a fault. To those that crossed her, she was death incarnate.” A wistful smile pulled at her lips. “We were friends, her and I. Good friends. Perhaps, after a century of slow starvation, the only pain of freedom was knowing she was dead. And the only pain worse was knowing she wanted us dead too.”

“You loved her,” Bonnie said softly.

Pearl only stared at her for a moment. “You love your friends, do you not?” Bonnie nodded. “No more than I loved Emily.”

Silence filled the room, though Angela’s mind was loud as ever. When Sheila absorbed Emily’s essence, had it only pushed her back to the Other Side, or had it erased her from existence? Where the thought would have been unfortunate before, now it was close to unbearable. It was so easy to replace Emily’s distorted face with Bonnie’s. Pearl’s face with hers. The pain she would feel if Bonnie was gone forever was indescribable. They were sisters, even if not by blood. She would be beyond repair. Gone forever too. Was that how Pearl felt now?

“Hey.” Elena’s concerned voice brought her out of her thoughts. “Are you okay?”

Her nose was burning, and she blinked before any tears could form. “Yeah. I just…” She forced a chuckle. “Sorry. My emotions have been kind of everywhere recently. This body still has its own hormones. Being a teenager sucks.”

After a moment, Anna cleared her throat. “Well, I guess we have something in common. Being a vampire sucks too. Because, y’know, we…suck…blood…”

Silence filled the room. Angela lifted a hand to cover her mouth, but she was too late. Everyone turned to look at her. “I’m sorry.” Her words were quick enough to not be marred by any giggles. “That was just… _really_ bad.”

Her words seemed to spark something in Bonnie, as the sympathy in her eyes became overshadowed by her bright grin. As the rest of the table expressed their own varying degrees of amusement, she looked at Anna, and saw that she understood. All was forgiven.

After that, the ice was broken. Conversation flowed freely, with her family showing exactly what Elena promised Pearl. What Angela promised herself. This time, history wouldn’t be repeating itself. Not while she was around.

They were halfway through their main course—an absolutely heavenly filet mignon she was determined to get the recipe for—when she decided it was time to get down to business. She swallowed her food and dabbed the edge of her mouth with a napkin. “You mentioned your apothecary earlier.”

Pearl set her glass back down, now filled with red wine. “Yes. It was owned by your father, if I’m not mistaken.”

“It’s owned by us now, but our aunt, Jenna, has control over it until we turn eighteen. I was thinking, if I introduced Anna to her as a friend of mine and you as her mother, it would be a step towards achieving your goal before you even buy it.”

“Does your aunt know about vampires as well?”

The plan had been to tell her after the tomb, but seeing Tanner’s corpse didn’t only change something in Angela. It changed something in Elena too. She became significantly warier of vampires, if not outright avoidant. Angela wanted them to be on the same page when they told Jenna; the page they’d been on before Tanner’s death. Being confronted with all their parents left behind would be confusing enough. Hearing two different stories would be the last thing Jenna needed.

“Not yet,” she replied. “For now, as far as any human outside this house is concerned, you’re three perfectly normal citizens. I would also recommend enrolling Anna in the high school this Monday. It would give you enough time until the Founders’ Party to begin making your mark.”

Pearl smiled. “I had the same thought. As far as your aunt is concerned, I suppose it wouldn’t harm anything. Perhaps you and your sister could bring Annabelle home from school one day. Let her stay for dinner.”

She caught onto the insinuation. “Invite her into the house, you mean.”

Pearl shrugged and took another sip of wine. “Trust breeds trust.” She recalled saying something very similar to that in the past.

“Didn’t we show enough trust by coming here?” Elena asked. When Pearl’s eyes shifted towards her, she swallowed nervously. “I mean… we’re under your roof. You could’ve killed us all if you wanted to.” Beneath the table, she saw her hand inching towards her purse. The stake. She forced her heart to remain calm through sheer willpower. “But we came here on our own.”

Pearl’s eyes narrowed, flicking over Elena’s face. “Your heart is pounding,” she muttered. “I wonder why.”

Angela decided to speak before anything got out of hand. “Talking back to a vampire as old as you is terrifying. Especially when this is her first time meeting you.”

Elena drew a breath, hand placed atop the purse. “Yes. I’m sorry. I meant no offence. I only meant, since we freely put our lives in danger, didn’t we already prove ourselves?”

Pearl smiled. “Are you worried I’ll have you murdered in your sleep?” She almost sounded amused. When nobody said anything, she chuckled. “Elena, if I wanted to kill you…” Her dark brown eyes became clouded by red, the smooth skin above her cheeks jagged and purple. It was a sight she was familiar with, from both the Salvatores and Anna, but she was the only one to have seen it before. Down the table, she heard Caroline’s gasp, and the screech of Tyler’s chair sliding backwards. “I’d do you the decency of letting you see my face.” As she spoke, her fangs were plainly visible. A power move, to show that she had the upper hand. That though she hadn’t killed them, she still could. She always could. As easy as blinking.

Through the makeup, Elena had grown pale. “I— I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

Angela gently intertwined their fingers, moving the hand that was on her purse back onto her lap. “I think that’s enough. It would be a pleasure to host Anna at our home. Though I doubt our dinner will be as extravagant as this.”

Pearl’s face faded back into its human form, though her cool smile was just as threatening. “I should hope not. It would put us to shame. Now…” She took the last bit of filet mignon into her mouth. “Shall we move on to dessert?”

“Can I…” Elena shut her eyes. “May I use the bathroom?”

Pearl nodded. “You may.”

“I’m going with her,” Angela said.

“Of course,” Pearl said. “Harper, if you would be so kind.”

It wasn’t too far away, and she held Elena’s hand the entire time. When Harper showed them where it was, Elena all but burst through the door. Angela stayed behind to ensure he left them alone, then entered the room. Her sister was bent over the sink, her knuckles white as they gripped its edge, her body moving harshly in tune with her sharp breaths.

She rested a hand on her shoulder. Elena shook her head and motioned at her ear. Vampire hearing. Angela turned the faucet on to max, something Stefan once confirmed interfered with their powers.

“I thought I could do this.” Elena’s voice was shaky. “I thought I could come here an— and be strong for you. Talk to a five-hundred-year-old vampire like it’s nothing. After the day we spent with Damon, I was so sure I could be strong for you. Could _be_ like you. But I get it now. With Damon, my anger was stronger than my fear. But now, all there _is_ is fear.” She looked up, and there were tears in her eyes. “Tyler was right. Dad was right. Her face— her—” She reached for her throat and drew a shallow breath. “Is that what they saw? Him and Mom? Tanner? Is that the last thing they saw before they died? The face of a monster, ripping them apart?” She shook her head, the tears slipping from her eyes. “I can’t do this, Angie. I can’t do this. I’m so sorry.”

Angela brought her hands up to gently wipe the tears away. “Lena… do you realize how well you’re doing?” Elena went to protest, but she hushed her. “All your life, you’ve been taught that vampires are evil, senseless creatures that kill without cause. And even though I argued with Dad every chance I got, his beliefs had to have an effect on you. Still, you come here and make polite conversation. You talk about Johnathan Gilbert when you know he’s a touchy subject, because it makes our argument stronger. You reach for a weapon when you challenge Pearl, because you’re prepared to defend yourself. That’s bravery if I’ve ever seen it.”

“But I have to be braver. I have to be stronger. I have to be like you in case you’re not there. We’re in too deep for me to be anything less.”

“And you will be.” She softly petted her cheek. “You went through your trial by fire, Elena. Now, when the flames fade away and you wash off the heat, you’ll find yourself stronger. Sharper. Like the forging of a greatsword. Or a shortsword.” She smiled. “Because you’re not _that_ huge.”

Elena huffed. “Not now.”

“Right. Sorry.” She moved her hands away from her face to hug her, the way her mother would whenever words failed.

“You know,” Elena mumbled after a while, “sometimes I think you’re a superhero. You do half the work around the house, get good grades, play supernatural mediator, and still have time to provide emotional support for everyone.”

“Not a superhero, remember?” She altered her voice to sound more like a young Tyler. “Shit! Angie! You’re a demigod!”

Elena pulled back with a grin. “You know what? Never mind. You’re just an arrogant old lady.”

Angela gasped loudly, and it made her sister giggle. The sound was exactly what she was aiming for. “You hussy! Take that back.”

“Mm…” She dug a packet of tissues out of her purse. “I don’t think so.”

She pursed her lips to maintain her stern façade. “And I only do half the work around the house because _someone_ doesn’t lift a finger.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

They stared each other down before Angela broke, and they shared a quiet laugh. “Are we okay to go back?”

Elena finished blowing her nose and threw the tissue in the waste bin. “Yeah.” She gave her a smile. “It’s time for me to start becoming a superhero too.”

They returned to subdued conversation and eight untouched plates of dessert. Pearl’s eyebrows twitched when she noticed them. “Elena. I hope you’re feeling well.”

“Much better. Thank you.”

Pearl nodded. Angela expected her to apologize like any decent person would, but she simply motioned to their seats. It was then that she realized. Maybe, in her eyes, there was nothing to apologize for. She achieved exactly what she wanted to. She reminded them who was in charge, even if it meant Elena having a panic attack. If Pearl was human, or even not surrounded by Anna and Harper, Angela may have attacked her for that. Her wisdom outweighed her anger, however, and made her stay her hand.

“Soufflé.” Elena smiled as she sat down. “My favorite.”

Angela’s eyes were locked on their host. “If it’s alright, I’d like for you and I to have our dessert in the living room. There’s something I want to talk to you about that would be best said in private.”

Pearl looked at her carefully. Analyzing her. Determining whether or not this was part of a trap. “Very well.” She pushed herself up, and when Harper went to follow, raised a hand to stop him. “You and Annabelle stay with the rest of our guests. We wouldn’t want to be rude.” She turned towards the door Angela was now positive led to the kitchen. “Margaret.” After a moment, the woman poked her head out. “Bring mine and Angela’s dishes to the living room.” Pearl crossed the room and offered Angela a smile. “Come.”

Without anyone to make room for, Angela sat more comfortably, close to the middle of the loveseat. Pearl was standing by the doors, though Angela could feel her curious eyes continue to analyze her. She almost started fidgeting when Margaret finally came in and set their dessert on the coffee table, the porcelain of the dishes clacking quietly as it pressed against the wood. The woman retreated into the hallway, sliding the doors closed behind her, and Pearl finally sat down on the loveseat opposite her. “Now…” She picked up her dish. “What is it you wish to talk about?”

“Katherine.”

Pearl calmly sliced the soufflé with her spoon. “Ah.” She brought it into her mouth, saying no more. Angela took that as her cue to continue.

“You told Damon how she escaped, which means you know that she betrayed you. Along with everyone else in the tomb.”

“Who you massacred,” she replied, slicing off another piece of soufflé. “Do you see me shedding tears for them?”

“If Harper had been among them, would you not be shedding tears?”

“But he wasn’t, was he?”

She edged forward in her seat. “The fact remains that Katherine left you to rot. To burn, for all she cared.”

“I prefer it when you are frank, Angela. You want me as an ally in your fight against Katherine.”

Her words died in her throat, all diplomacy going out the window. “Yes.”

That seemed to amuse her. “Yes,” she repeated simply. She set down her dessert and rested an elbow on the back of the loveseat. “Do you know how long a hundred forty-five years is? Truly know? Time passes quickly for creatures like us, but when you have nothing to do but think… one hundred forty-five years is a very long time to hold onto grudges. I’ve always known what Katherine is. Cunning. Selfish. Ruthless. A survivor. I admired that about her once. Now, after a century and a half of doing nothing but thinking, I’ve come to the realization that she’s worth little more than the dirt I spent all those years lying on. I hold no hatred for her in my heart. Only indifference. All I want now is to live in peace.”

“And I admire that,” she said gently. “All I want is to live in peace too. But a war _is_ coming, Pearl. If you want to stay in this town, you won’t be able to ignore it. Katherine will return at some point, of her own volition, though I don’t know when. I don’t even know where she is.” Tyler never noticed when she took a hair from his head, with how much she tended to touch it. She learned that Mason was being cloaked too, and hadn’t been able to use him to track Katherine. “Which means I have no idea when we need to start preparing to take her on. If you want to live in peace here, in Mystic Falls, I’m afraid you’ll have to fight for it.”

Pearl let out a breath of faint amusement. “Si vis pacem, para bellum. And what is to stop me from selling this house and moving elsewhere? If things truly are as you say. My apothecary isn’t a strong enough attachment to keep me from saving my life.”

It was then that she knew she had her. She couldn’t help but smile. “What about Emily’s life?”

Pearl’s eyes narrowed. “What about it?”

“Do you not know what happened to her? How she died? Or did you assume she died of old age?” Pearl stayed silent, watching her. “She was burned at the stake two days after you were sealed away. Because Katherine turned her in.”

“You lie.”

“Katherine is cunning. Selfish. Ruthless. And Emily was a loose end.”

“Emily was the most powerful witch I ever met. And Katherine was never a fool. She wouldn’t let someone like that slip through her fingers.”

“You don’t have to take my word for it.” She reached into her purse to pull out a leather journal. “This belonged to Grace, Emily’s daughter.” She held it out, and Pearl took it immediately. “She was only four when it happened. Had nightmares of it her entire life. The entry on October 23rd details it most explicitly.” She had no idea if she’d even need it. Only took it with her because it was evidence of Katherine’s treachery.

She watched as Pearl flipped through the pages. Finally she stopped. And then, she found it. She could tell because her posture grew rigid. Her eyes, dark. She gripped the journal tightly before letting go with a long, slow breath. “You could have forged this.”

She shook her head. “I remember reading that when Grace was four, she thought you and Anna were a queen and princess from a faraway land. She made up an entire story about you and the kind of fruit you used to eat the most. Used to call you… God, what was it?”

“Queen Pearl the Peach,” she whispered.

“That’s right! Queen Pearl the Peach. And Anna was Princess Anna the Apple, because if she was the daughter of a peach it only made sense that she’d also be some kind of fruit. I got the impression she was a clever kid.”

“How could…” Pearl took a sharp breath. “But Emily, she wanted us to rot forever.”

“She thought that Katherine was still in there. And assumed everyone inside would be freed. She was only trying to protect her family.”

Tears built up in Pearl’s eyes for but a second before she shut them. When they opened again, they were dry. And full of red. The veins beneath crawled to the surface until they reached her impeccable cheekbones, and she forcefully set down the journal before she could rip it in half. Wordlessly, she stood up and crossed the room. She leaned against the doors for a moment, her back shuddering. She roughly shoved them apart. Then, she was gone.

Angela stared at the space where she’d been. Was she was meant to follow? How even _could_ she follow? Before she could think too much, Pearl returned with something in her hands. She closed the doors and sat in the loveseat, allowing her to see what it was. Or, rather, what they were. An empty blood bag. A tube. A needle.

She went about putting it all together as Angela understood what was happening. Pearl stabbed her arm with the needle, holding the bag so her blood would flow inside, and she still couldn’t bring herself to speak. Her mind was a jumble of emotions. From _‘holy shit’_ disbelief, to ‘ _fuck yes’_ excitement, and last but not least, the classic _‘what the hell is my life right now?’_

Once the bag was full, Pearl pulled the needle from her arm and let the skin stitch itself back together. She held the full blood bag out to her, making sure to look her in the eye. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she remembered that eye contact was meant to make people trust you. “I apologize. For scaring your sister, and your friends.”

Angela’s mouth moved soundlessly, until she decided to simply accept her offering. “I… Thank you, Pearl.” Her thumb moved over the bag, making the warm blood swim around, as if to prove that it was real. “Will you be staying after all?”

Pearl picked her soufflé back up, swinging one leg over the other and getting comfortable. “I believe I will. I have unfinished business with an old… _bestie_.”

Her eyes were red.

The third time Jenna called her out was after they left the house. Angela made sure to get that recipe from Margaret—along with the one for the soup and soufflé—and they bid their farewells with significantly less fear than she expected them to have. Whatever conversation the others had while she and Pearl were talking must have repaired the rift Pearl’s intimidation created, and though she didn’t know who to credit for that, she chose to believe it was Elena.

“Did you see her face?” Caroline whisper-yelled on their way to the car. “It scared the bejeezus out of me!”

“Yeah, I saw her face,” Tyler said. “Everyone saw her face.”

“Oh yeah.” Caroline’s giggle was cut short when she nearly twisted her ankle, and Tyler held her up before she could fall to the ground. It seemed she had a bit too much to drink.

Bonnie chuckled and said, low enough for only the twins to hear, “Only way you’re getting into his arms again.” That startled a gasp out of Elena, while Angela tried desperately to stay silent so Caroline wouldn’t get suspicious.

Elena bumped Bonnie’s hip with hers. “You’re sassy today.”

“It’s a good day,” she responded.

Angela unlocked the car. The girls got inside, and she was about to as well, but noticed that Tyler was still standing there. She turned to him in confusion. “Aren’t you coming?”

He shook his head. “Nah, some of the guys from the football team are having a party tonight. Place is out of town.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Look…” He stepped closer. “I’m sorry I said that thing about your friend. I shouldn’t have.”

She smiled in amusement. “No, you shouldn’t have. But I get why you did. You were trying to look out for me.”

“ _Trying_ being the operative word here. All I did was upset you.”

“And you’re apologizing for it. The you of five years ago wouldn’t have done that. He would’ve thrown a temper tantrum and left. That’s progress.”

He shrugged, a gentle smile playing at his lips. “The me of five years ago didn’t have you. You’re a good influence.”

A good influence. A superhero. Was that who she’d become? It should have felt good, knowing how important she was to the people around her. How she made them kinder, stronger people than they would have been without her. But it was so tiring, looking after four kids and knowing they couldn’t look after her in turn.

Deep down, she knew it was her fault. They would listen if only she spoke, but they were still so young. They shouldn’t be trying to save their town from becoming puppy chow for Klaus. Because that was what they’ve been doing, even if she hadn’t let them know. The least she could do was be a stable force they could lean on throughout the madness. An anchor, no matter how cold and lonely it was to sink into the sea.

“You should go,” she said quietly. “Wouldn’t want to miss that party.”

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat and shot her another smile. “See you later.”

Her hand rose to give him a small wave and she finally pulled the door open to climb into the driver’s seat.

Bonnie watched him walk away. “Where’s he going?”

“Think frat party but the high school version,” Angela said.

“Jock party?”

“Yup.”

“Ooh,” Caroline said excitedly, “we should party too! Do you wanna go to the Grill?”

“The Grill?” Elena asked. “We just got done eating.”

“That’s not the only thing that’s at the Grill, genius.”

“You want to get even _more_ drunk?”

“What do you mean ‘more drunk’? I’m not drunk.” Elena turned around so she could see her face when she sternly raised her eyebrows. Caroline pouted. “I’m tipsy! There’s a difference!”

Angela snorted. “Sure, Jan.”

“…What?”

She shook her head and got the engine running. “Never mind. So, where the hell are we going?”

“Grill!”

“Asking anyone other than Caroline.”

“I don’t know,” Bonnie drew out. “I kinda wanna get drunk too.”

“Girls’ night out sounds fun,” Elena said.

Angela smiled and smacked the steering wheel. “Grill it is.”

It was a Saturday night, which meant that the Grill was completely full. So full that its patrons were unlikely to notice four underage girls getting shitfaced in the corner. Okay, maybe not shitfaced, and definitely not Angela. She still had to drive. But the fact remained that it was prime time to get wasted.

Caroline rushed to one of the only unoccupied tables and snatched the drink menu, flipping to the wine section and scanning its contents. “Hm… what’s the most expensive thing they’ve got?”

Angela laughed, sitting across from her. “Really?”

“What? I have taste. Let’s see… there’s this one called Caber— Cabernet Sauvignon from… _Blasted Church_? What kind of name is _that_?”

“How much does it cost?”

“Who says we have to pay?” Bonnie asked from her left. “We’re all single. We can get our flirt on for the night, can’t we?”

Caroline looked at her like she was a godsend. “You’re the smartest person I’ve ever met.” She glanced at the bar, and a wicked smirk formed on her face. “Ooh, guess who’s working tonight.”

Angela followed her line of sight and groaned at who she saw. It was Evan, one of the few boys at their school brave and stupid enough to have repeatedly hit on her. She looked back at Caroline. “What are you saying?”

“You’re hot and he’s into you.” Her smirk widened. “Capitalize.”

She looked at Elena; a plea for help. “It’s a good plan.”

She looked at Bonnie; her last hope. “Come on, Ann. Live a little.”

She looked at Caroline; the bane of her existence. “Do it, slut.”

“Ugh! Fine!” She got up and pointed at them. “But you owe me big time.”

Evan was conventionally attractive, but that was never something she cared for unless she already cared for their personality. And his personality was the walking, talking embodiment of a high school fuckboy. Which was to say she hated him.

She slid into a barstool and watched as he mixed a drink for a man further down the bar, waiting for him to notice her. Finally, he did, and she acknowledged him with a small, teasing wave.

His eyes travelled from her hand to her shoulders, down the curve of her back, and to where her dress stopped right above her knees. It was difficult to suppress the disgusted shiver she felt go down her spine at his obvious thought process. She followed him with her eyes as he came to stand before her, not tilting her head to look at him comfortably, but instead looking at him from beneath her lashes. Though she hadn’t tried seducing a man in nearly two decades, she remembered this was something they seemed to like.

“Hey, stranger,” he said teasingly. “Do I know you from somewhere?”

She wanted to snort and walk away, the way she did when he hit on her in school. The audacity of him, acting like the few times they’d spoken he hadn’t tried to get in her pants.

She smiled and made sure her voice was breathier than usual. “Are you saying I’m forgettable?”

“Not easily.”

“You’re not easily forgettable either. Actually… I’ve been having trouble getting you out of my head recently.” The line was so cheesy it almost made her gag.

His smirk became smug. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” She chuckled and looked away, feigning embarrassment. “Sorry, I, um… I don’t usually do this kind of thing.”

“No, I had a feeling you were just playing hard to get.” He ran his eyes over her again. “I get off in an hour. Why don’t you wait here and we can go somewhere fun?”

 _Ew, did I just get asked out?_ She couldn’t say yes, but she had to make him think she was interested. What could she say? Her eyes searched the room. Bar. Shelves. Alcohol. She could change the conversation to alcohol, and work in the fact that she wanted wine.

Her eyes flicked to the man down the bar. “What’s he having?”

“Uh… pisco sour. Why?”

“Never had one of those before. What’s in them?”

“Brandy.” That voice didn’t belong to Evan. It belonged to someone she never wanted to see again. She turned her head to the left and found herself face-to-face with a pair of ice blue eyes. “Lemon juice. Syrup. Egg.” He crinkled his nose. “Never liked eggs. Pancakes are a much better breakfast food.” He barely glanced at the boy. “I’ll have a glass of bourbon.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” she demanded.

“What, I can’t support the local economy?”

Evan looked between them. “Do you know this guy?”

“Unfortunately.”

Damon smiled. “You, Ms. Gilbert, are a very mean person.”

“Says the literal mass murderer.”

“Oh, you’ve been getting chummy with all sorts of mass murderers. I’m just the only one that’s killed in front of you.”

Evan blinked. “Wait, what?”

“You’re also the only one that’s choked me half to death, promised to make my life a living hell, threatened to rip my heart out, snap my neck, _and_ kill everyone in my whole entire town, including this dude,” she gestured at Evan, “who in all fairness I wouldn’t miss too much.”

“Ouch.” Damon turned towards him. “You hear that? She wouldn’t mind if I killed you here and now. That’s gotta hurt, no?”

“W— What are you talking about?”

“Oh. Right. Forgot you were out of the loop. See, _I’m_ a murderous, bloodthirsty vampire, and _she’s_ a crazy person.”

She rolled her eyes. “ _I’m_ the only reason Sheila didn’t kill you as soon as you stepped foot in Mystic Falls.”

“You’re also the only reason she’s in a coma right now.”

Despite Bonnie’s thanks for keeping her alive, she’d been carrying that guilt with her since it happened. And now, someone finally confirmed she was right to feel that way. That should have made her happy, shouldn’t it? All it did was make her resent him more.

“Did Bree tell you?”

His smile was cold. “We’re friends, remember?” He turned towards Evan. “Forget everything you heard since I got here. And get me that bourbon, free of charge.”

She watched him walk away. “Why are you here right now, Damon?”

He briefly scanned her body. Not in a lustful way, like Evan did, but in a way that suggested he was forming a plan. “You got any other dresses?”

“Why?”

“Because you’re keeping your end of the deal. The Lockwoods are members of the Council, and I hear they’re having a fancy get-together this Thursday. Along with the rest of their vampire-hunting buddies.”

“What are you saying?”

“You’re going to be my date to the Founders’ Part—”

“Absolutely not.”

His eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“Because I’m having a great day today and you’re not ruining it for me?”

“We made a deal.”

“Yes, we did, and I fully intend on keeping my end of it. But I don’t need to be your date to do that. I’ll just rave about what a great guy you are. Extol your virtues, ignore your many, many, _many_ faults. The biggest hurdle will be getting through it all without puking.”

He blinked once, evidently deciding to ignore that last bit. “Word around town is you’ve turned down everyone that’s ever asked you out. Which makes people think you have ridiculously high standards. Ridiculously high standards people will think _I_ meet if you show up as my date. It’s simple. Classic. Effective. We’re doing this my way.”

“No. We’re not.”

His fingers twitched atop the bar, and though they were nowhere near her, her throat closed up. “I’m not asking, Angela.”

She clenched her jaw so she wouldn’t show him how much he frightened her. _If you act like prey, he’ll treat you like prey._ She straightened up. “And what are you going to do if I keep saying no? Hm? Kill a bunch of innocent people? Go for it. Maybe you’ll get yourself caught. You can’t hurt anyone I care about. Which means you can’t threaten me.”

He tilted his head. “Is that what you think?”

“That’s what I _know_. Your mind games won’t work on me.” She slid off the barstool. “Or on my sister.”

“Are you Damon?”

She looked behind her. Caroline Forbes stood there, her pink glossy lips curled in a smile that was far too wide to be genuine. The rest of the group was watching from a few feet away, with Bonnie’s hand ready to reach for the syringe and Elena’s heated eyes focused solely on Damon.

“Who’s asking?”

“Is that a yes?”

A smirk pulled at his lips. “Yes.”

Caroline’s hand shot out, and the sound of it impacting with the side of his face was like a crack of thunder. For a second, Angela forgot how to breathe. She could only stare as Damon turned his head back to them, face empty from shock.

Caroline’s pretty features were twisted into a scowl, and she wrapped a hand around Angela’s wrist. “ _Never_ talk to her again. Okay?” Her smile returned, nastier than ever. “Nice to meet you.” The last thing Angela saw before she was dragged out of the Grill was his cold, hard eyes boring into her.

Elena was on her as soon as they stepped outside. “Are you okay?”

“What was he doing here?” Bonnie whispered, looking behind them as they hurried to the parking lot.

She paid them no mind. She was staring at Caroline. “You just slapped Damon.”

“I told you I would.”

“For me. You just smacked a vampire in the face, for me.”

“Yup.”

Her feet slowed to a halt once they reached the car. “Caroline.”

She turned around to face her curiously. “Hm?”

“Will you marry me?”

“Well, duh.”

The laugh that left her was somewhat manic, but she didn’t care. “If any boy hurts you again, I’m castrating him.”

Caroline giggled. “You better!” She turned back around and nearly twisted her ankle again, but saved herself by grabbing onto the door handle.

Bonnie rushed over to support her. “We need to get her home.”

“Yeah.” Elena was looking at Angela. “Are you okay? What did he want?”

She rolled her eyes and unlocked the car. “Hop in, girls. I have a joke for you.”

On the way to Caroline’s place, she recounted what happened. While Caroline herself had laughed at the story’s absurdity—a big, bad vampire begging a high schooler to be his date to a boring party—Bonnie had grown pale at what he might do to make her say yes. But Elena? Elena was angry.

They finished dropping the girls off at their respective houses, and now she was saddled with watching her sister silently seethe all by herself. Elena mumbled something beneath her breath, but she didn’t quite catch it.

“What was that?”

“I’m gonna kill him.”

She rolled her eyes. “No, you’re not.”

“I’ve been training. Every morning, on my jog, I go to the park down the street and practice staking the trees.”

“Prac—” A laugh escaped her, and Elena shot her a glare. “You’re being ridiculous.”

“No, I’m being your sister. Is there some giant, groundbreaking reason he needs to stay alive?”

“Christ, Elena, half an hour ago you had a panic attack because a vampire showed you her fangs. What do you think will happen if you try to kill one?”

“Nothing. Because this vampire can’t hurt me, remember? If he does, he’ll die anyway.”

She shook her head. “Exactly. He can’t hurt you. He can’t hurt any of us. Which means there’s not a good enough reason for me to want him gone.”

“But he can hurt people we don’t know. Innocent people. Isn’t that a good enough reason to want him dead?”

“I said gone, not dead. And there _are_ reasons I want him around, they just— you won’t understand. Not when you’re like this.”

“So _make_ me understand.”

She sighed. “Okay. Let’s start with the basics. He’s a source of knowledge. If he wasn’t around, we wouldn’t have been able to find a witch to tell us what’s wrong with Sheila, which means she could be dead right now. He’s a source of strength. When Katherine comes back and he realizes she doesn’t care for him, he’ll want her dead more than anyone. He’s unpredictable. And while that’s a bad thing, it’s also a great one. He can see possibilities the rest of us won’t, which could mean the difference between life and death. He’s S—” She cut herself off.

Elena stared at her curiously. She seemed calmer than before, and spoke when the silence lingered for too long. “What?”

She pursed her lips. “He’s Stefan’s brother. And I know for a fact that their relationship can be repaired.”

Elena continued staring at her. “And… why didn’t you want to say that?”

She fell back into silence, watching the streetlights pass them by. “I don’t know where you are with him,” she finally said. “Didn’t want to speak for him if you two are closer.”

“I… did say I’ve been avoiding him like the plague, right? Or was that a hallucination?”

“I assumed he was excluded from the list.”

Elena huffed and turned to her, the leather she was sitting on emitting a quiet creak. “Angie, we’ve had like three real conversations. Total. And yeah, okay, _maybe_ he’s jaw-droppingly gorgeous, and _maybe_ behind the fangs he’s a good person, but that doesn’t change the fact that he _does_ have fangs. And I… I honestly can’t see myself with someone like that. Not yet. Not when Mom and Dad’s deaths are still so fresh in my mind. Not when I keep imagining them looking worse than Tanner.”

She came to a stop in front of their house and turned to look at her properly. “He’d make you happy.” It was an argument she’d used countless times, but what other argument was there, when their relationship hadn’t progressed nearly as quickly as it would in a world where she never existed?

A soft, loving smile crossed Elena’s lips. “You make me happy. You. Always and forever, remember? I made that promise with my sister. Not some boy I barely know. Or… would the right term be ‘man’? Grandpa? Oh! He’s a grandpa and you’re a grandma! No wonder you get along.”

Angela laughed. “You know, we were having a moment here.”

“Uh-huh, we were having a moment when you called me fat too.”

“Actually, I called you huge, which doesn’t necessarily apply to width. You’re like a giraffe. You, Tyler, and Caroline. Me and Bonnie are the only normal ones, and she’s a witch and I’m a superhero.”

Elena shook her head and opened the door. “No, you know what you said.”

She retrieved the keys and followed suit, stepping out into the cool night air. “Uh, yeah, I said you’re like a giraffe. Maybe I’ll paint spots on you while you’re sleeping.”

They climbed the steps to the porch, and Elena groaned. “Oh, God, remember when I got the chickenpox that one time? I couldn’t understand why no one could hug me.”

She slid the key into the front door and twisted. “I definitely remember you _crying_ all day because no one would hug you.”

Elena chuckled as they stepped inside. “Yeah, that’s right. Hey, remember when…”

“Oh!” She heard Jenna from the living room. “I think that’s them.” The sound of her slippers shuffling against the hardwood floor gradually became louder until finally she came through the archway into the foyer. She grinned when she saw them. “Hey!” Her eyes moved between her and her sister, but they seemed to fixate more on her. “Did you have fun? Wherever you went.”

“Yeah.” Elena set her purse down on the console table. “How come you’re all happy?”

A light blush came to her cheeks, and she looked back into the living room. “Oh, well, uh—”

Her body went numb.

She saw his hair first, his head slightly bowed as he stepped through the archway. Then, his jacket. Black leather, only a shade or two darker than the brown of his hair. When he turned the corner to face them, she saw the small smirk on his lips, and finally, staring straight into her own eyes were his; ice blue and triumphant.

“Hello, Angela.”

For a second, she thought she would break the strap of her purse, the way Pearl nearly broke the journal. “Hello, Damon.”

“You know,” Jenna said gleefully, ignorant of the tension, “I get why you didn’t tell me who he was now. I might’ve stolen him for myself!”

Damon turned to her, and if Angela didn’t know who he was, she would have found his expression utterly chivalrous. “Please, Jenna. Someone as lovely as you deserves better than a poor soul like me.”

The blush on Jenna’s cheeks intensified, and she gave a bashful laugh. “See what I mean? A perfect gentleman.” As she walked past her and Elena, she leaned in to whisper, “And super hot.” With a wink directed at her, she climbed up the stairs and disappeared from their sight.

Angela waited to hear the click of a door shutting, signifying she had entered her bedroom, and scoffed. “Are you kidding me?”

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Elena asked incredulously.

He shrugged. “Maybe next time, your friend should keep her hands to herself.”

Elena clenched her jaw and reached for her purse. The stake. A rush of wind blew past her and then Damon had it in his grip. “Now, now,” he tutted. “Let’s not do anything stupid.”

Elena stepped back at their close proximity. “Maybe you should keep your hands to yourself too. You can start by giving that back.”

He had the gall to laugh at her. “Why? What do you have in here? Your diary?” He unzipped it and went to look inside.

“Tampons,” Angela blurted out. “Period pads. Condoms.” She went over and snatched it from him, quickly zipping it back up and tucking it close. “Things you don’t want to see.”

He smirked. “You just named three of my favorite things.”

She stared at him until it hit her. “Oh! Oh my God! Ew!” She moved further away. “You’re disgusting!”

His eyes darkened. He walked to her and leaned in close, making her go completely still. She didn’t breathe, watching as a hand came up to trace her collarbones. The touch was so light it almost tickled, and she forced herself not to shiver. “Baby,” he purred lowly, “I can be downright filthy.”

She clenched her jaw. “Get. Out.”

“Mm, but Aunt Jenna was kind enough to invite me in. It would be rude to leave so soon, wouldn’t it?”

She narrowed her eyes. He was asking for it, wasn’t he? She shoved her left wrist into the side of his neck and watched his eyes go wide. He startled back with a small cry, allowing her to slip past him and stand next to Elena. “You really should keep your hands to yourself,” she said venomously.

He sneered. “And you should be kinder to a volatile, bloodthirsty vampire like me. Maybe you’d prefer it if my hair was lighter. If I had a brooding brow. Those green, smoldering eyes to look deep into your soul.”

“Oh, boo-hoo,” she pouted, “my brother got the girl a century ago so now I terrorize every woman he speaks to. Grow up, Damon. Do you know that five minutes before we got here I was convincing Elena _not_ to kill you? Elena. The biggest baby I know wanted to kill _you_.” She ignored the look her sister gave her. “Want to know why Katherine chose Stefan? Why she will _always_ choose Stefan? Because despite everything he’s been through and all his flaws, he actually tries to be better. He doesn’t blame others for his mistakes. He doesn’t terrorize people when his humanity is on. He’s not pathetic.” She stepped closer. “He’s not you.”

His eyes darkened, though this time with something far more dangerous than lust. He flashed in front of her, barely an inch from touching her skin. “He’s also not here,” he snarled, “to keep me from whisking you away and making you watch as I kill hundreds of innocent people.”

She laughed, and found that Elena was right. With Damon, her anger outweighed her fear. “You think that’s why seeing you kill Tanner upset me? Because he was innocent? Nobody’s innocent, Damon. Tanner was a bully to his students, even if he looked out for them in the end. It upset me because I was trying to save him. Because I let myself care. Humans have a switch too. After we get hurt enough, we’re able to reach it. If you whisk me away and make me an accomplice to murder, I’ll just turn it off. You can start with Evan, like you said. The corpses will pile up and up and still I’ll keep it off. As simple as breathing.”

A film of fascination descended over his eyes. “Do you really mean that?”

Faintly, she remembered that Elena was there. That what she said could change her perception of her forever. That she would realize just how far she was from being a superhero. Somehow, the thought set her free.

“Yes.”

The fascination watched her for a time; silent, still, until it faded away and took the darkness with it. “I think, Ms. Gilbert, I had you all wrong.”

She straightened up. “Good. Maybe you’ll realize all your other mistakes too.” She stepped to the side and raised an arm, pointing to the door she left unobscured. “Now, Mr. Salvatore, get the hell out of my house.”

Much to her surprise, he did what she said, though not without giving her one final, long look. Then, she was left alone with her sister, and somehow that was worse.

Elena had an indiscernible expression on her face. “Did you really mean that? About— what was it, a switch?”

She walked to the living room with a sigh, carelessly casting her purse aside. “I rarely lie.”

“That’s why you don’t want to kill him,” Elena said, following behind. “Or have him _gone_ , or whatever. You don’t care if he kills innocent people. As long as they’re not people you care about. Right? As long as you don’t have to feel any pain.”

She reached into the liquor cabinet and went about pouring herself a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. “This feels like an accusation.”

“That’s because it is.” Angela turned around, and finally made out what the expression was. It was disgust. “What Harper said. You made all those vampires— all those people watch as you burned them alive. How many of them were innocent?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you even care?”

She turned back around just in time for a tear to slip down her cheek. She absently wiped it away and took a sip of wine. “What I care about is keeping you alive. You, Jeremy, Jenna, and everyone else. If that means killing a tomb of potentially innocent people, then that’s what it means.”

There was silence. “Who are you?” Elena whispered.

“Your sister.”

“…Who _were_ you?”

“…It’s late. You should go to bed. Have trees to stake in the morning.”

“No.” Elena came to her side. “No, you don’t get to do that this time.”

She turned her head to look at her. “I’m not sure,” she said quietly. “There are holes. I remember losing people, but I don’t know who. I felt pain a lot. Sadness. Loneliness. One day, I decided to just… stop feeling it. I hurt people. Not physically, but on a deeper level. Emotionally. Telling them I loved them and leaving the next day. Breaking into their jewelry boxes or desks on my way out. Manipulating them to get things I wanted.

“But as soon as I became a Gilbert… as soon as I met you and realized I _had_ somebody, I let it all back in. The guilt nearly consumed me, when I realized what a terrible person I’d been. What a terrible person I was, because that kind of thing never fully goes away. It’s why I try to be so open with you. With everyone, if I can afford it. I never want to be that person again. That person had nobody.” She reached up to gently cup her sister’s face. “Angela Gilbert has everybody.”

Elena drew a shaky breath. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I was afraid. Afraid you’d look at me different. And tonight, even though I didn’t tell you, you looked at me different anyway. So I thought, what the hell.”

Elena shook her head, pressing her lips together to keep the tears at bay. “I’m sorry.”

She smiled. “Just promise me something? Don’t tell Jeremy yet. Not until he’s fifteen. I don’t know if he’ll understand right now.”

“I promise.”

“Thank you.” She reached up to lay a gentle kiss on her forehead. “You should sleep. It’s almost midnight.”

Elena drew another breath, this one deeper and steadier. “Yeah. You’re right. Goodnight, twinny.”

“Goodnight, twinny.”

She watched Elena leave the room, listening to the soft sound of her footsteps ascending the stairs, and sat on the couch. Her mind took her on a journey through all that happened that day, as it usually did. Searching for important information, anything she could use in the future, but it kept bringing her back to what she just told her sister. She handled it well. Would it be so bad if she told the others? She decided to put off that thought for later. For now, she had more practical issues to worry about. She always kept their bedroom shutters closed at night, out of paranoia that a crow would be watching them, but maybe she should shut the ones on the first floor as well. The last thing she wanted was for Damon to creep into the house like some kind of—

She sat up so quickly she nearly spilled her wine.

Damon. Damon had been invited into the house. By Jenna. Tonight. If he was invited into the house _tonight_ , he couldn’t have been behind her parents’ murder. “Holy shit,” she breathed. How was it that for every bad thing Damon did to her, something good came out of it? Now, she could finally cross a name off her list. The rest would come to her with time. All but the vampires of Augustine. Those, she had to go to herself.

But first, she needed a way in. It shouldn’t be too hard. Her father used to be a member, and she was a young, impressionable teenager whose parents were killed by a vampire. Why shouldn’t she want them all to suffer? If she pushed the sheriff a bit harder, if she got into the Council herself, she might be able to convince Augustine to let her in their ranks. It shouldn’t matter that she was underage if she made the right name for herself.

She couldn’t help but smile, the light in her chest brighter than ever. Yes. Bonnie had been right. Today was a good day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not me sobbing at what was supposed to be a stupid, cliché, feel-good self-indulgent fic becoming the most serious work of fiction I’ve written in my life. I hope my descent into madness at least felt natural lmao.
> 
> Question: What’s something you’d like to see happen in the future? Because if I feel it fits the story I do sometimes take ideas from you guys.


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